Last week, Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year old dentist of Indian origin died after she was denied an abortion at an Irish hospital. She was in pain from a uterine infection, caused by damage to  the membranes around the fetus (thus reducing tremendously the chance of the fetus surviving or growing to term) but was told that terminating the 17-week pregnancy when the fetus still had a faint heartbeat would go against Catholic values as pracitsed/understood by the attending doctors .  Her death rattled the world, because it could have been easily prevented.

As an immediate reaction to her death, there have been protests and vigils, demanding justice for women like Savita. These article below  are particularly worth sharing.

Justice for Savita – An Article By Jessica Valenti:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171285/justice-savita

When Is An Abortion Not An Abortion: The Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/1117/1224326695598.html

After Savita’s Death Thousands March For Abortion Rights in Ireland:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/after-savita-halappanavar-s-death-thousands-march-for-abortion-rights-in-ireland-293719

Lest Death Do Us Apart – Arghya Sengupta
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/lest-death-do-us-part/article4108879.ece

In the long run, this tragic incident is likely to fuel fundamental ideological debates which go well beyond Savita, and of which Savita herself was a victim. We will be taking a look at some of them all through this week. So, please comment on our blog, and make this conversation count!

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