There are a lot of tweets about the terrible way the RTE is reporting on the Savita case and the protests against it. I’d already noticed its ridiculous headline.
Rallies held in Dublin, Galway in memory of Savita Halappanavar
Uh, no – those were protest rallies, not memorial services. They weren’t about just remembering Savita, they were about trying to make sure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to other women.
Subhead:
Several thousand people are marching through the centre of Dublin to attend a rally in memory of Savita Halappanavar, the woman who died following a miscarriage at University Hospital Galway.
That is one misleading subhead.
RTE talked to an official.
Earlier Minister of State at the Department of Health Kathleen Lynch said if the expert group on abortion recommends legislation to deal with the issue, the Government will have to act on it…
She said she was a great believer that if you put an expert group in place, you must wait to see what their recommendations are…
She agreed with Eamon Gilmore who said doing nothing is not an option.
However, equally it would be a very challenging and complex piece of legislation but it was more important to get it right rather than quick.
What’s so challenging and complex about it?
It’s not challenging and complex unless you let priests throw up a lot of obstacles.
I wonder how many priests are in that “expert group on abortion.”
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has described the abortion issue as complex and very challenging.
It’s not. It’s not complex and very challenging (I like the way they switched the word order for the sake of variety – it reminds me of Apollo 13 – “Remember, you’re happy and thrilled and very proud”) unless you create pointless complexity.
Speaking as he arrived at the TEEU conference, Mr Bruton said he understood the report was coming to Government on Tuesday week when they would have an opportunity to discuss it.
He said the Programme for Government had resolved that abortion was an issue that would be addressed and that Government had rightly decided to have an expert group work over the ground for them and provide the insights to make the proper decisions.
We need to know who is in that expert group.
I’m getting a strong whiff of “let it be studied for so long that some other crisis will come along and take peoples’ minds off of abortion so we don’t have to deal with it.”
sickening
oh wait, the church doesn’t have any influence at all, right?
Men, most likely. Women are far too emotional and irrational to deal with such “a very challenging and complex piece of legislation”.
They may even have to be virgin men in dresses. Just to be on the safe side.
quote: “They may even have to be virgin men in dresses. Just to be on the safe side.”
I have always been skeptical about this. I just assume they are all pedophiles, all the time! 😛
Can we stop this “men in dresses” thing? It implies there’s something degrading about people wearing dresses.
Can we stop this “men in dresses” thing?
This.
Yeah, I get that the intent is to make fun of the Catholic priesthood by implying that this bunch of sexually repressed, presumed cis-straight men, who seek to control other peoples sexuality, are actually flaming transvestites (not that *we* think there’s anything wrong with that, but they would), or something like that, but it really doesn’t work. It’s the same thing (and only barely subtler) as insulting some swaggering macho guy by calling him a closeted gay.
If you must make fun of ceremonial garb (and arguably there is virtue in mocking the trappings of power), stick to the “funny hats” theme.
Actually it’s quite simple. No legislation on abortion. It’s strictly the woman’s choice, and her doctor’s sole concern shall be their patient’s health.
@7 That’s the way we do things in Canada: no laws prohibiting abortion, period. There’s some governance on abortion, but from a health care perspective (it’s supposed to be fully funded according to the Canada Health Act- taxpayers paying for abortions, oh noes!- though some provinces are in defiance of this). Anti-choicers keep going on about how it’s a huge problem that a woman can legally get an abortion right before giving birth (because that happens all the time in Canada), and we need to “fix” that problem. Nothing needs fixing, though! No abortion restrictions is a feature, not a bug!
This is what other countries should strive for.
May Savita Halappanavar have the same influence on Ireland’s abortion laws as Dr. Henry Morgentaler had on Canada’s.
The composition of the expert group is shown at http://www.thejournal.ie/expert-group-established-to-report-on-echr-abortion-ruling-327955-Jan2012/
Dr Peter Boylan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Dr Mary Holohan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Dr Imelda Ryan, Psychiatrist
Dr Ailish Ni Riain, General Practitioner
Dr Mark Walsh, General Practitioner
Ms Christine O’Rourke, Office of the Attorney General
Ms Mary O’Toole, Senior Counsel
Ms Joanelle O’Cleirigh, Solicitor
Ms Denise Kirwin, Solicitor
Dr Deirdre Madden, Medical Council
Dr Maura Pidgeon, An Bord Altranais
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health
Mr Bernard Carey, Assistant Secretary, Department of Health
No Church involvement – An Bord Altranais is the Irish Nursing Board.
PS Not included in that list is the Chair, High Court judge Justice Seán Ryan. Still, 9 women to 5 men! Maybe there is hope.
It was meant as a description, not an evaluation. I have no issue with men wearing dresses &c of their own volition.