Emma Watson Pays ‘Deepest Respect’ to Savita Halappanavar

The Indian dentist’s death was central to the campaign to change Ireland’s abortion laws.

Activist and the Harry Potter actor Emma Watson paid tribute to Savita Halappanavar, the Indian dentist, who passed away after being denied abortion in Ireland in 2012, in a heart-tugging letter published in the Porter magazine.

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Activist and the Harry Potter actor Emma Watson paid tribute to Savita Halappanavar, the Indian dentist, who passed away after being denied abortion in Ireland in 2012, in a heart-tugging letter published in the Porter magazine.

Halappanavar’s death was a result of a septic miscarriage and could have been averted. Her case became a turning point in Ireland’s history as it propelled the historic referendum, in which over 65% voted to legalise abortion. "You didn’t want to become the face of a movement; you wanted a procedure that would have saved your life," Watson wrote.

A note on your memorial in Dublin read, “Because you slept, many of us woke.” That the eighth amendment enabled valuing the life of an unborn fetus over a living woman was a wake-up call to a nation. For you, and those forced to travel to the UK to access safe, legal abortion, justice was hard-won. From Argentina to Poland, restrictive abortion laws punish and endanger girls, women and pregnant people. Still, Northern Ireland’s abortion law predates the lightbulb. In your memory, and towards our liberation, we continue the fight for reproductive justice, a part of the letter read.

The 28-year-old, a gender equality champion also personally donated $5 million to women’s rights causes over the last 12 months.

Source: Net-A-Porter