Ep 580 Ten Years On: The legacy of Savita Halappanavar

This week marks ten years since the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died on the 28th October 2012. The young Indian woman was seventeen weeks pregnant when she presented to University Hospital Galway complaining of severe back pain. Although informed by doctors that she was actively miscarrying, she was denied access to an abortion, despite multiple requests. One week later, she was dead. What followed was a public outpouring of grief and calls for a change to Ireland’s strict abortion laws. People took to the streets calling for reproductive rights for all Irish women, which later culminated in the repealing of the 8th Amendment more than five years later. In this episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by Kitty Holland, the Irish Times journalist who broke the story of Savita’s death, Ailbhe Smyth Co-director of Together for Yes, Ireland’s campaign to repeal the 8th and Anna Cosgrave, the abortion rights activist who created the famous Repeal jumpers. Together, they reflect on Savita’s life, the legacy she left behind and why her name will never be forgotten.

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