I Am Amy Dunne

Book excerpt: In 2007, Amy Dunne was barely seventeen years old and pregnant with a baby girl who had anencephaly, meaning the baby was certain to die before or at birth. Amy, who was temporarily in the care of the HSE, told a social worker about her plan to travel for a termination. Although she was supported by her family and by the baby's father, she was told by the HSE that it would not be possible for her to travel, so Amy had to fight her case in the High Court. Her private tragedy quickly became an extremely public story. Now in her thirties, with the Eighth Amendment repealed, Amy reflects on the culture of shame that she and many other Irish women lived through. I am Amy Dunne is ultimately a story of enormous resilience and power.