Abortion law in Ireland was passed by the parliament on December 13, 2018, which was the final step of the process to forward it to the Prime Minister for signing and certifying it as the country’s law.
This event is considered a “historic moment” and marks “the end of a lonely journey and the stigmatization of women who have abortions” to support women’s right to choose in Ireland
In the past, Ireland was one of two countries in Europe that banned abortion in all cases (the other country is Malta). A significant event leading to the amendment of the law dates back to 2012 when Irish dentist Savita Halappanavar, who was 17 weeks pregnant, was found to have a severely abnormal fetus. She and her husband requested an abortion to save her life, but they were denied and told that this was a Catholic hospital. Two days later, she developed a blood infection and died in the same hospital.
Savita’s death deeply affected the entire nation. Irish people came out to protest peacefully, holding signs saying “Never Again” to tell the world, “Let this never happen again,” and demanded that “the right to abortion should belong to women, not the state or religious directives.” Memorials for her death are held every year, leading to a referendum allowing abortion in 2017. The referendum results showed that two-thirds, or 66.4%, agreed with this law.
Under the law passed by the parliament, women can decide to have an abortion if the pregnancy is less than 12 weeks, when a fetal abnormality is detected, or when the woman has physical or mental health issues.
Information and images from the websites iristimes, cnn, bbc, and thairath.