Savita's death is a wake-up call, not church-state issue: NUCF

Amid growing protests over the death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland, a top Christian forum on Monday said the death of the 31-year old must not be made a "church-versus-state issue".

"Life is precious and sacred and can never be replaced. We ask for all concerned to stop making this a church-versus-state issue and focus on the lessons we learn from this tragedy… Let this tragedy be a catalyst for change here in our own homeland," the National United Christian Forum (NUCF) said in a statement.

The forum comprises of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).

"The Christian stance is that an abortion can never be done because it means the death of a defenseless, feeble life in the womb. But another medical procedure can be performed as long as the intention is to save the mother's life, even if the procedure may end the life of the child. The death of the child is foreseen but not willed," NUCF said.

The statement was issued by Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi, president of NUCF, Bishop Taranath Sagar of NCCI and Rev Atul Aghamkar of EFI.

It informed that the tragic incident of Savita must remind that in India every five minutes a woman dies while delivering a child.

A staggering 20 per cent of such worldwide deaths occur in India.

India is among the 11 countries responsible for 65% of all maternal deaths globally. Abortion-related deaths contribute to 8% of maternal deaths in India.

Savita died of complications on October 28 after being denied a life-saving abortion following a miscarriage.

For three days, Savita reportedly asked several times that her pregnancy be terminated. Savita's husband and activists claim that she may have survived had the foetus been removed sooner.

India had last week summoned the Irish Ambassador in New Delhi to convey its "concern and angst" over the tragic death of Savita.

According to sources, the Irish cabinet will take up a report of an expert group on abortion on Tuesday.

The report will be presented before the cabinet by Health Minister James Reilly.

"I have read the report and I need to study it further. It's a hugely complex issue that has divided the country... and we're not going to solve it in a matter of weeks," Reilly told an Irish radio network.

It could be early 2013 before a clear government position is made, he said.

Thousands of people last week attended candlelit vigils in Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Carlow and London to demand the government to legislate on abortion.

An estimated 4,000 Irish women receive abortions annually in England, where the practice has been legal since 1967.