Emma Watson has penned an open letter to a woman who died after being refused an abortion in Ireland.
The ‘Harry Potter’ actress addressed Dr. Savita Halappanavar, who tragically passed away in October 2012 at the age of 31 at University Hospital Galway due to the complications of a septic miscarriage at 17 weeks.
Dr. Halappanavar’s death prompted Irish lawmakers to ultimately pass legislation that allowed medical experts to carry out an abortion if a mother’s life is in danger and in May a historic referendum occured and had a 66.4 per cent winning result of votes wanting to repeal the controversial 1982 eighth amendment that made abortions illegal because the law gave an unborn fetus the same protection as its mother.
Emma’s tribute to Dr. Halappanavar’s legacy for Porter Magazine read: "You didn’t want to become the face of a movement; you wanted a procedure that would have saved your life. When news of your death broke in 2012, the urgent call to action from Irish activists reverberated around the world – repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution.
"Time and again, when our local and global communities collectively mourn a tragic death due to social injustice, we pay tribute, mobilise and proclaim: rest in power. A promise to the departed and a rallying call to society, we chant: never again."
Emma – who has personally donated £5 million to gender equality and women’s rights causes over the last year – went on to highlight how her death served as a "wake-up call to the nation" that highlighted the absurdity of the rules surrounding abortions.
Emma 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."
Writing to her loyal 47.8 million followers on Instagram, Emma proudly wrote how the "planned new legislation has already been dubbed ‘Savita’s Law’ by campaigners".
Emma said: "The planned new legislation has already been dubbed ‘Savita’s law’ by campaigners out of respect for a woman who didn’t want to become the face of a movement, but simply wanted a procedure to save her life."
Emma Watson pays tribute to late doctor
