In the past years anti-choice groups have taken to demonizing women who need abortions by constructing an “ideal and good” other – a woman, who becomes pregnant within the aegis of a marriage, does not need abortions or even believes the idea to be selfish. These arguments are often used to make women feel guilty or inadequate, and sometimes influence laws that determine access to abortions. But Savita’s death brings to light the dangers of constructing such rigid gender roles, and calls for the need to formulate laws that provide abortions to all women who may need them.

Women Who Want to Be Mothers Also Need Abortions:

Savita lived a life that would have charmed conservatives around the world. She was educated, married, settled in a developed country and expecting a baby she very much wanted. But an infection made her a candidate for abortion. It would be a pity if her death is not a wake-up call for conservatives who assume that “women of a certain type” need abortions.

Abortion Care For All Women:

It would be a pity if the media in India and around the world does not critically examine its own interest in the case, and weed out any conservatism that might be at play. It is imperative to wonder if this case might have received the attention it has if a woman of the ‘lower classes’, or an unwed mother, or an immigrant from a poorer country, or a sex-worker, or just about anyone who did not live by the book would have died in Savita’s place. Only such critical thinking will help us take this debate beyond Savita, and ensure that women from all walks of life have the access to abortion whenever they need it.

Women Are More Than Wombs:

On the day after Savita’s death, a lot of tweeters posed a question: was Savita used an incubator for a fetus that had only a feeble heart beat? This question has to be expanded to involve all women. Conservative views have forced women around the world to derive a sense of self-esteem from their ability to “produce life”, vilifying both infertility and abortion. But gender equality hinges on the deconstruction of such traditional social constructs. It’s imperative that men and women explore their identities and rights outside of predefined norms.

ASAP is featuring a week of blog posts to reflect on the tragic incident that lead to the death of Savita Halappanavar. For regular updates from ASAP please subscribe to our blog.