The rights of the foetus
THE ZIKA virus and its implications for pregnant women have set in train further debates about a woman’s right to abortion. The issues are complex and it is possible that there will never be consensus. It is only common sense that a pregnant woman cannot be placed in a position as existed in Ireland in 2012 when a 31-year-old Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, died due to complications of a septic miscarriage and because the hospital staff hesitated to abort the foetus since it might not be legal. According to legal experts in Trinidad and Tobago, common law precedents already provide for...
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