Mediating abortion politics in Ireland: media framing of the death of Savita Halappanavar

Abstract

On 28 October 2012, Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman living in Ireland, died in hospital while under medical care for a miscarrying pregnancy. According to her husband, her repeated requests for an abortion were ignored because of the presence of a foetal heartbeat. Ms Halappanavar's death was a critical event in the process leading to a referendum on 25 May 2018, when the Irish electorate voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, removing the constitutional ban on abortion. The name Savita has become indelibly linked to the changing course of abortion politics, so it is timely to reassess the role of the media in shaping the parameters of the debate about the impact of her death on the issue. This study presents a frame analysis of Irish newspapers in the weeks following her death, mapping the political, medical, legal and socio-ethical discourses, as well as the related contemporaneous events that set the agenda for the type of debate that was to follow. It identifies four media frames: Public Tragedy, Political Opportunity, Abortion Legacy and Maternal Health. Our central argument is that the overall effect of media framing provided much face-saving for politicians in the way that the legislative issue was viewed through a conservative party-political lens, despite public outrage.

Challenging abortion stigma: framing abortion in Ireland and Poland

“…In Ireland, similar argumentation aimed to generalise the harms that a constitutional ban on abortion created for a range of women requiring access to SRH. Such framing was effective in neutralising the “moral” status of the fetus, shifting abortion debate from a moral to a clinical category 36 and reframing a highly politicised and divisive issue into an actionable political and social policy choice. In Ireland, such framing helped move the abortion into a moderate social and cultural space, while in Poland such framing dampened the resurgence of reactionary right-wing morality politics on the issue.…”

“…At the same time, broader cultural shifts associated with the emergence of new feminist organisations encouraged women to speak out about their experiences of crisis pregnancy and abortion. 7 , 36 Analysis also suggests that transnational networks of Irish pro-choice activists and the return of Irish emigrants from more liberal countries had driven change. 37 Support for repeal of the amendment from centre-right ruling parties alongside abstention from other traditionally conservative political elites contributed to the outcome, illustrating the lessening of church control in political and public matters.…”

Putting Abortion in the Frame: The Success of the Campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment in Ireland

“…The position of women and their bodies in Ireland is fraught with a long history of subjugation and oppression by the Catholic Church with the collusion of the Irish state (McDonnell and Murphy 2019). While the role of women in Irish society has changed dramatically in the 21st century, more so than in any other period in Irish history, we still have a long way to go.…”

“…September 2012 saw the beginning of what eventually became the 'Campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment' with the first 'March for Choice' organised by Abortion Rights campaigners held in Dublin and other cities all over the world. The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar the following month in October 2012, due to a septic miscarriage, propelled the campaign into a national movement (McDonnell and Murphy 2019). This was as a result of the refusal of University Hospital Galway to perform a termination that could have potentially saved Savita's life and highlighted again the misunderstanding around what the 8th Amendment actually meant for medical staff and pregnant women.…”

Persistence and Change in Morality Policy: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Politics of Abortion in Ireland and Poland

“…Public testimony about abortion experiences became more widespread: parents who had experienced pregnancies with fatal foetal anomalies spoke out during the passage of legislation that forbid abortion in their circumstances (Bacik, 2015; Enright, 2019); women began to share stories of their experience of abortion travel (Quilty et al ., 2015); and artists and activists staged protests through public artworks (Enright, 2020, this issue). This public outcry and the perceived shift in public opinion persuaded some centrist politicians to endorse abortion reform (McDonnell and Murphy, 2019).…”