It has been a decade since Savita Halappanavar was denied an abortion while having a
miscarriage. As a result she died of sepsis on October 28th, 2012.
Her death ignited anger and grief across the country. A national movement was born to
ensure that never again would women die through being denied access to abortion: Repeal
the Eighth.
It was people on the street, not politicians in government, that ended the Eighth Amendment. But the work is not finished.
While we have limited access to abortion, we do not have reproductive justice. The abortion
legislation we do have is insulting, and relic of our paternalistic past.
We still must deal with:
*A 3-day wait
* A 12-week gestational limit
* People travelling abroad to end a pregnancy with a fatal foetal abnormality
* 11 of 19 of our Maternity Hospitals NOT providing abortion services (this may include
the new National Maternity Hospital in the future)
* Much of the North is without any access to abortion services at all.
The state continues to fail women. Since Repeal, more than 700 people have been forced
abroad for abortion care. Many politicians have simply packed up their Repeal jumpers and
patted themselves on the back for a job not finished.
We must demand true reproductive justice. We must demand the human right to maintain
personal bodily autonomy, have or not have children, and parent the children we have in
safe and sustainable communities. Until then, our work is not finished.
People power won Repeal. People power will win Reproductive Justice
Savita Halappanavar: 10 Years On The Struggle Continues
