SUMMARY  

Savita Halappanavar was 31 in October 2012 and she was 17 weeks’ pregnant; it was to be the first baby for her and her husband, Praveen.  In October, some time later, though, Savita Halappanavar felt that something wasn’t right. She was in pain and she was experiencing a strange sensation in her pelvis and back. She was having a miscarriage. Having been admitted to a hospital in Galway, her situation began to deteriorate, she became feverish and she asked for an abortion. It was clear that there was an infection. The hospital denied her request. Although it was obvious that she and her husband were going to lose their baby, there was still a foetal heartbeat and doctors – adhering to Ireland’s strict abortion laws – were unwilling to carry out a termination. She asked again. Savita Halappanavar died of sepsis on 28 October, 2012, having been denied an abortion that could have saved her life.

This story became public knowledge on 14 November, 2012, when Praveen Halappanavar spoke to The Irish Times. The misogynistic laws killed a woman. The Eighth Amendment – the piece of law that acknowledged “the right to life of the unborn and with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother”, introduced into the Irish constitution in 1983 – was destined to be cruel. It was unworkable, it was ideological, it was designed to cause misery, that was the point of it.               

The death of Savita Halappanavar galvanised a nation: a country that had been looking the other way as its punitive abortion laws caused harm to pregnant people, forced them to board ferries and planes, was now faced with an undeniable horror. It took a further six years but in May 2018, the Irish people voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Ten years on from the death of Savita Halappanavar, women and pregnant people in Ireland are safer. A person who does not want to be pregnant, who can longer be pregnant – for whatever reason – has more options now. Abortion is free and safe and legal, in most circumstances.

In 2022, Ireland’s abortion laws are still causing pain and hardship to too many, especially those in the most difficult of circumstances. Ten years after the death of Savita Halappanavar and four years after the Repeal referendum, the Irish government must ensure that country’s abortion legislation works for those who need it most. Abortion is healthcare and abortion is a necessity in a society that values the lives of women.

Source: www.image.ie