Majority of the Irish are upbeat after the country voted overwhelmingly to change the Constitution to legalize abortion.
According to exit polls, 69 percent of voters voted to repeal the 35-year-old 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution that had some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. A stunning victory for those opposing the archaic diktat after a long and divisive campaign. A historic victory in a country viewed as deeply religious and traditional.
It is also a moment brought about by the untimely and tragic death of a vivacious young Indian woman from Karnataka after she was denied an abortion six years ago. Her death had caused widespread outrage across Ireland and revulsion at what many saw as the country’s archaic abortion laws.
In 2012, 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar was living the dream. A successful dentist who lived with her husband, Praveen in Galway, on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland – one of the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of the world.
On October 2012, a four-month pregnant, Savita was admitted to the University Hospital in Galway with back pain.
She was released and readmitted the same day when doctors determined that she was miscarrying. Savita asked for an abortion, realizing that her life was now in danger.
The doctors, who Savita’s husband says were fearful of the consequences of granting his wife’s wishes, repeatedly refused termination.
At one point, her husband claims, doctors told him: “You can’t have an abortion, this is a Catholic country”, as his wife begged for a termination. A week later, Savita was dead from severe sepsis. She had suffered a miscarriage four days after she had been admitted to hospital.
Her death caused widespread revulsion.
Thousands of people took to the streets across the country and even prompted representatives of the Catholic Church – which has long shaped public policy and attitudes in Ireland – to publicly state that the church did not believe the right of an unborn child was more important than a woman’s right to life.
A subsequent government investigation revealed that the ambiguity which surrounds the 8th Amendment to the Constitution – which only allows for abortions in cases where the life of the mother is in extreme danger – was a “materially contributory factor” in Savita’s death.
Savita’s beaming face has appeared widely on posters and banners for the “yes” campaign which called for the repealing of the 8th Amendment.
Her father Andanappa Yalagi released a video calling on voters to “remember Savita” when they voted.
And Ireland has today voted overwhelmingly for a radical and historical change, sparked by the martyrdom of a young Indian girl whose life was cruelly snatched away.
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