Savita Halpannavar was sacrificed to Catholic religious fanaticism.

Anti-choicers in Ireland are giving the prime minister hell because he’s supportive of liberalizing their incredibly harsh abortion ban. Enda Kenny reports, “I’m getting medals, scapulars, plastic fetuses, letters written in blood, telephone calls all over the system, and it’s not confined to me.” Man, Catholicism does weird shit to people’s brains. It’s funny that they call themselves “pro-life”, when their tactics—obsessing over blood, fetishizing surgical pictures, sending scalpels in the mail—seems much, much closer to the habits of a serial killer.

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Which, actually, under the circumstances is totally appropriate, because this deluge of mail has nothing to do with “life”—fetal or otherwise—but is straightforward advocacy of murdering pregnant women through medical neglect.

Spurred by the international outrage surrounding the death of Savita Halpannavar — an Indian woman who died after being denied an emergency abortion in an Irish Catholic hospital — Kenny approved legislation in April that would allow women to access abortion services if their life is in danger. On Wednesday, Ireland’s ministers signed off on a completed form of the legislation, and the parliament hopes to enact it before adjourning in July. But, even though Ireland’s amended abortion law is still incredibly harsh — it doesn’t include any exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal defects, and women’s health advocates caution that it’s only an incredibly small step toward greater reproductive rights — the deeply conservative nation has erupted into controversy.

Because letting women live is controversial. If the vessel cannot bring forth the child, the vessel—who has no value outside of being a baby machine—needs to be tossed onto the trash. That said vessel is a human being with feelings, thoughts, and people who love her is no matter, apparently. I bet even veternarians in Ireland are allowed to abort a pet’s pregnancy if it’s a danger to the animal. That’s where women rank in the minds of anti-abortion fanatics.