The up till now anguished father of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist who died of sepsis in 2012 subsequent to denied abortion during a miscarriage has welcomed the consequence of Ireland’s landmark referendum to turn over the ban on abortion.
He said, “We have got justice for our daughter, Savita.”
The crusade to repeal the eighth amendment, paving the way for new legislation to permit for the termination for pregnancies in predominantly Catholic county Savita’s demise being a catalyst.
The eighth amendment granting equal right to life of mother and unborn is now set to be changed. People in Ireland voted tremendously to overturn the forbid on abortion by 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent in the referendum held on Friday and results announced on Saturday. Hundreds of people recited Savita’s name shortly following the outcome of the referendum.
Ireland’s Indian-origin Prime Minister Leo Varadkar who campaigned in support of liberalisation said, it was a historic day for Ireland and a quiet revolution had taken place.
Read more: It is looking like we will make History with Abortion Referendum, Says Ireland’s PM
He further told people at Dublin Castle that the outcome of referendum showed Irish community to trust and respect women to make their own decision and choices.
In response to the outcome of the referendum, Savita’s father, Andanappa Yalagi contentedly said, “We’ve got justice for Savita, and what happened to her will not happen to any other family now. I have no words to express my gratitude to the people of Ireland at this historic moment. Savita’s loss had devastated the family and it is still extremely emotional after five years. I think about her each day.”
Savita’s spouse, Praveen Halappanavar said that he and his wife had constantly solicited for the pregnancy termination after her admittance in the hospital, though they had been told, “This is a Catholic country.”
In the mean time, according to Irish times report, the Irish Cabinet on Tuesday will regard a request from the Minister for Health to draft the heads of the bill to implement the decision of people.
By Sowmya Sangam
