Renewed calls for Savita Halappanavar memorial on anniversary 

Calls for a permanent memorial to Savita Halappanavar have been renewed on the 11th anniversary of her death.

Savita died from sepsis in a Galway hospital in 2012 having been denied what would have been a life-saving abortion.

Her death sparked a global outcry, and served as a catalyst for the campaign that eventually led to the successful repeal of the 8th amendment, which passed in 2018 after 66% of voters voted yes.

Former TD Ruth Coppinger and feminist activist Ailbhe Smyth have led a campaign for a memorial to Savita:

“On the 11th anniversary, we renew our call on Dublin City Council — and indeed Galway where Savita died — to commission a permanent memorial to Savita as a mark of respect for her and to say ‘never again’ should any woman or person die from being denied an abortion or healthcare of any kind, “ said former TD and ROSA member, Ruth Coppinger.

“A memorial would help correct the deficit of memorials to women in our capital and an important recognition of the huge social movement for women’s rights that took place in Ireland.”

“The letter calling for a memorial was signed by activists and figures in trade and student unions, medicine, the arts, migrant groups. However, we presented it four months ago to Dublin City Council and we now need real consideration and action by the Council,” said Ailbhe Smyth.”

“We appeal to councillors to progress this and we will now write to the Commemoration Committee of Dublin City Council.”

The letter reads:

“We, the undersigned, call on Dublin City Council to commission a permanent memorial to remember the life and tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, who became a catalyst for social change and women’s rights in Ireland.”

“Savita, an Indian woman living in Ireland, died from sepsis at the age of just 31 after repeatedly requesting what would have been a life-saving abortion. The tragic nature of her death lit a spark for the Repeal movement in Ireland which was a transformative event in Irish social and political history.”

“For the tenth anniversary of her death, an Organising Committee held a moving and successful march in which participants echoed the call for a permanent memorial to honour Savita and, indeed, all those harmed by the presence of the Eighth Amendment in our Constitution. It is our position that such a memorial would also act as a powerful reminder to the Irish state to never again allow religious opinion to take precedence over human rights.”

“In the aftermath of the fifth anniversary of the Repeal referendum, we think this is an opportune time to formally request that the Irish state, and Dublin City Council as the main local authority in the capital city, commission a statue or public art piece as a permanent memorial.”

“Savita’s place in the public consciousness in Ireland was evident in the strength of the emotional reaction to an unofficial mural of her at the time of the referendum and in the hundreds of poignant messages left there. The decision by Dublin City Library & Archive to photograph some of the messages so that these transient notes might be preserved for future scholars and historians suggests that there is also broad support for a permanent memorial within the DCC too.”

“Savita was a migrant to Ireland and a woman of colour. There are few statues or  pieces of public art  in Ireland to women and none to migrant women, so such a memorial would be a fitting correction to this glaring deficit.”

“The memorial would also carry a powerful global message for change. Abortion is still illegal, restricted or unsafe in huge swathes of the world, leading to the death of at least 23,000 women and pregnant people annually and to the injury of many more. With the reversal of abortion rights in the USA, it is sadly inevitable that tragedies like the death of Savita can now happen in the most ‘developed’ country in the world.”

“A memorial to Savita also chimes with the ongoing struggle for the right to bodily autonomy and healthcare by women and transgender people.”

“We ask the Council to commission a permanent memorial respectfully honouring Savita Halappanavar’s life and declaring ‘Never Again’ must anyone die from being denied an abortion in Ireland.”

The letter was signed by Coppinger, Smyth, LGBTQ+ activist and performer Panti Bliss, journalist Vincent Browne,, Gabrielle Fullam, President of Trinity College Dublin Students Union, Orla O’Connor, director, National Women’s Council of Ireland, and author Marian Keyes.