Savita Halappanavar 's story is remembered as an unfortunate and needlessly tragic one. Despite requesting an abortion at University Hospital Galway after complications in her pregnancy, she was denied access on legal grounds, contracted sepsis, and died in 2012.

Her passing sparked a national outcry that eventually led to the repeal of the 8th Amendment, it does not erase the fact that she lost her life. Even now, Savita's death has not faded from the public mind. Abortion care continues to be obstructed despite efforts to improve it, like removing the three day wait period for an abortion, and

Now, there have been calls for a national memorial to be made honouring her and others who suffered and died because of the restrictions imposed by the 8th Amendment.

It wouldn't be the first time Savita Halappanavar's memory has been called upon. In 2021, a vigil was hosted on the ninth anniversary of her death, an event that also emphasised the need for a secular National Maternity Hospital.

Last year, on the tenth anniversary of her death, another protest was held to demand an abortion law review.

Today, Ruth Coppinger handed in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, asking  for a permanent memorial to Savita. An avid supporter of the Repeal the 8th Campaign, she was joined by representatives from ROSA, a socialist feminist movement against sexism, oppression, inequality & capitalism, as well as members from Action for Choice, Irish Council of Civil Liberties, and more.

A post to ROSA's Instagram included two photos and the hashtags #neveragain, #abortionrights, and #migrantlivesmatter. The first photo showed the delegation posing in front of the Mansion House D2 with posters of Savita and a copy of the letter held up to the camera. The second photo included a close-up of the letter that was delivered off to the Lord Mayor.

 

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"Dear Mayor / Chief Executive," the letter begins.

"We, the undersigned, call on Dublin City Council to commission a permanent memorial to Savita Halappanavar, to remember her life and the impact her tragic death had on social change and women's rights in Ireland."

Continuing on to recall how Savita's tragic death inspired the Repeal movement, it then revealed that an Organising Committee met at last year's march in October, "in which participants echoed the call for a permanent memorial to honour Savita, to commemorate her and all those harmed by the Eighth Amendment - and to act as a reminder that this state must never again allow religious views to take precedence over human rights."

Recognising it as the fifth anniversary of the Repeal, they then went on to describe it as "an apt time to formally request" that the Dublin City Council commission a public art piece in her memory. They noted that it wouldn't just be a powerful message in regard to abortion healthcare, but bodily autonomy as a whole and would be the first art piece dedicated to a migrant woman in Ireland.

"Savita's place in 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. We believe there would be huge support for such a memorial."

"The memorial would also carry a powerful global message. 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.'"

Besides Ruth Coppinger (of the Savita Memorial Committee), the list of undersigned included Aibhe Smyth, Panti Bliss, Dr. Peter Boylan, a former master of the National Maternity Hospital, Vincent Browne, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary Ethel Buckley, and the Unite the Union Regional Secretary of Ireland, Susan Fitzgerald.

Laura Fitzgerald of ROSA, Trinity College Dublin Students Union President Gabrielle Fullam, Liam Herrick of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Dr. Sinéad Kennedy from the Department of English at Maynooth University, Marian Keyes, Salome Mbugua, the CEO of AKIDWA, welfare office and member of UCD Students Union Míde Nic Fhionnlaich, and the director of the National Women's Council, Orla O'Connor, were also among those who signed.

"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 concluded.