While nothing can bring back what Andanappa Yalagi and Akka Mahadevi Yalagi have lost, the elderly couple from Belagavi believe Ireland’s new law legalising abortion should be named after their daughter Savita Halappanavar.
Savita’s death in 2012 from a miscarriage as she was denied abortion led to calls for a change in Irish laws.
Changing times
The couple are happy that the Irish referendum has gone in favour of legalising abortions. “We knew this would happen,” Mr. Yalagi said. “Long ago, we had demanded that if there were to be a new law to remove restrictions on medical termination of pregnancy in Ireland, it has to be named after our daughter. It remains our demand even today,” he said from his home where he sat switching news channels to get updates about the referendum that his daughter’s unfortunate death had sparked. He said this would be a model for all countries where women did not have the freedom of choice over abortions.
After Savita’s death, her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, an engineer who hailed from Haveri, moved from Ireland to the U.S.
“He stays in touch with us. He has also fought for Savita and tried to convince the people of Ireland to change their mind about abortions. He will be happy to learn about the referendum too,” Mr. Yalagi said.
“Whenever there is a tragedy in our family, we tend to think that only we suffer such losses. But later you realise that such sad incidents happen in millions of families, and you are not alone,” Mr. Yalagi said.
“By sacrificing her life, Savita changed the minds of the people of not only Ireland, but the whole world. Her life was a message,” said an emotional Mr. Yalagi, a retired engineer.
