Women’s rights activists in Ireland are bravely risking time in jail fighting for the right to the freedom of choice. The death of Savita Halappanavar, the woman denied an abortion in a Catholic hospital, may not have been in vain, as activists throughout Ireland have banded together in an attempt to fight the abortion ban as well as raise awareness of other options for women, such as going to Great Britain to obtain the procedure.

Ireland, unlike the rest of Europe, is extremely religious and conservative on many social issues, including abortion. Abortions are banned countrywide unless the woman’s life is in danger, and in some cases doctors won’t perform the procedure even then.





Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress reports,

After the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, the 31-year-old woman who died after being denied an abortion in an Irish Catholic hospital, the fight for reproductive rights has taken on a new fervor in Ireland. Activists flooded the streets to declare that Savita’s death won’t be in vain, demanding a policy shift in the socially conservative country’s stringent abortion laws. And now, inspired by the momentum sparked by Savita’s case, pro-choice activists are risking up to 14 years in prison to spread the word about how Irish women can safely travel to Great Britain to obtain an abortion.

The Irish activists are disseminating information about how women can obtain abortions, which is illegal in the country:

They are targeting cafes, pubs, clubs, gym changing rooms and public toilets with thousands of leaflets giving contact details for British abortion clinics as well as the price of terminations. The literature includes a website where Irish women can buy early abortion pills (effective up to nine weeks of pregnancy) online via womenonweb.org. Organisers and supporters behind the campaign, which began after Savita Halappanavar’s death in Galway University Hospital last autumn, say they intend to intensify their leaflet blitz after the government approved a bill on Tuesday to allow for strictly limited abortions in Ireland. Disseminating information on how to buy early abortion pills is illegal in the Republic and under the new legislation those helping to procure an illicit termination risk being jailed for up to 14 years. The abortion information blitz is taking place as Irish politicians in parliament debate whether or not to support the Fine Gael-Labour coalition’s protection of life in pregnancy bill, which the cabinet backed last Tuesday night.

The death of Savita Halappanavar has sparked worldwide outrage by those in favor of the freedom of choice. At only 31 years of age, her life was cut short by blood poisoning when doctors refused to remove the fetus. She had been admitted to the hospital days earlier because of intense pain caused by the start of a miscarriage.

The fight for abortion rights can be a hard one — just like the decision to have an abortion. No woman, or, at least, an extremely small and somewhat repugnant percentage, uses abortion as birth control. Abortion is a last-resort option, but women should, and in many places, do, have the right to choose. Those brave activists fighting to get that right, and risking time in jail to do so, should be applauded by progressives and liberals around the world. If you’re not progressive, but still support progressive social ethos, you should celebrate these women as well.