MEPsImmediate abortion legislation has been sought by 53 MEPs from 15 countries in a letter to Taoiseach Enda Kenny.The group includes Dublin Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy.
The letter expresses shock at Savita Halappanavar’s death and expresses sympathy with her family. It adds: “The tragedy highlights the need for immediate action to introduce legislation for abortion in Ireland. Despite the ruling of the Supreme Court in Ireland in the X case, that abortion should be permitted in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, successive governments have failed to legislate for this. In the A, B and C v Ireland case, the European Court of Human Rights found that Ireland had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide an accessible and effective procedure by which a woman can have established whether she qualifies for a legal abortion under current Irish law.
“In order to give support and legal clarity for health professionals, we call on the Irish authority responsible for the health service, the Health Service Executive (HSE), to immediately issue a directive allowing for immediate terminations of unviable foetuses to save women from severe pain and protect their health and life. Ms Halappanavar is now the victim of this inaction.”
