Abortion in Ireland
Abortion in Ireland used to be illegal. The right to life of unborn children was enshrined in the Constitution of Ireland by the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983. This, however, was repealed by referendum in 2018.
Savita Halappanavar (1981-2012) was a dentist, originally from Karnataka, India, working in Galway, Ireland. She passed away from sepsis, reputedly after a request for an abortion was denied. This death was ruthlessly exploited by pro-choice activists and groups, who used misinformation and hysteria to push for the legalisation of abortion in Ireland. However, Kitty Holland, the journalist who broke the story of Halappanavar's death, revealed that she may have 'muddled' certain details and it may be found that there was no request for a termination at all. Moreover, Dr. Hema Divakar the president-elect of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India. revealed that "in that situation of septicaemia, if the doctors had meddled with the live baby, Savita would have died two days earlier. Even if the law permitted it, it is not as if her life would have been saved because of termination."[1][2] Several inquiries were made into Halappanavar's death, each carried out by different authorities: the Health Service Executive (HSE), Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), and a special court presided over by a judge, the Coroner for West Galway, and featuring a jury. None of these investigations concluded that an abortion could have saved her life.[3]