The second anniversary of the death of Savita Halappanavar was marked by candlelight vigils in Galway and Dublin last night. In Galway, about 150 people gathered to remember the Indian dentist who died from septicaemia at University College Hospital in Galway on October 28th, 2012. Ms Halappanavar (31) was 17 weeks pregnant. She had asked for an abortion when she was told that she was miscarrying and would not retain her unborn baby.
She was advised by hospital staff that an abortion was not possible because of the presence of a heartbeat and because, initially, it was considered that there was not an immediate threat to her life.
Nine members of the hospital staff were disciplined following a review of the circumstances of her care at the Galway hospital. Her death sparked public debate which eventually forced a change in abortion legislation, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013.
Speakers at last night's commemoration repeated those calls, urging the removal of the eighth amendment to the Constitution. Rachel Donnelly for Pro Choice Galway said: "We are trying to keep up the pressure on our politicians to remove the eighth amendment. Without it, the liberalising of our laws is very difficult."
Members of Pro Choice Galway were at Eyre Square throughout the day inviting the public to sign messages of sympathy and support for the Halappanavar family. Last night many of those messages were strung with flowers on the historic Browne Doorway at the square.
Savita's name was spelled out in candles outside St Stephen's Green in Dublin, where up to 200 people gathered. They heard music and poems, including What Kind of Times Are These by Adrienne Rich.
"We just wanted to come together in respect and in remembrance of Savita. I didn't know her myself but I feel really connected to her story," said Cathy Doherty, spokeswoman for the Abortion Rights campaign, organisers of the event. "She was a young, 31-year-old woman who had an inevitable miscarriage and denied access to treatment that could have saved her life," she added.
“I really don’t know how far we have come in the two years that have passed since Savita’s death but certainly public conversations around abortion are happening more and the stigma is being lifted.”
Ms Doherty said that while she would welcome any legislation that would save a woman’s life, the current legislation “makes things more complicated and dangerous.”