Support for Indian woman who dies after abortion request in Ireland

A large number of people are joining protests and candle light vigils in Ireland in support of an Indian woman who suffered a miscarriage and died after being refused an abortion in a local hospital last month.

About 400 people gathered for a candle light vigil for Savita Halappanavar in Cork, in the south of Ireland, the Irish Times reported.

There were also protests in Dublin outside Ireland's parliament, the Dáil Éireann.

31-year-old Savita was 17 weeks pregnant and wanted an abortion as she was found to be miscarrying when she was admitted to Galway University Hospital. However, the doctors declined the request saying Ireland is a Catholic country and they cannot abort a foetus.

Savita later developed septicaemia and died on October 28.

Although the hospital staff informed the couple that the baby would not survive, they refused to carry out an abortion because they had detected a foetal heartbeat.

"I am still in shock. It is hard to believe that religion can mean somebody's life," Savita's husband Praveen Halappanavar said. The Indian couple were resident and working in Ireland

Savita's death has now triggered the debate over legalising abortion in the predominantly Catholic country.

Ireland's constitution officially bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling declared that women should receive abortions if their pregnancy posed a "real and substantial risk" to their life.

The Irish health authority (HSE) has launched an inquiry which the health minister said must "stand up to the scrutiny of the world".

Joining activists in Ireland, parents of Savita too are demanding amendment of Irish abortion laws to prevent such incidents.

Savita's father Andaneppa Yalagi told reporters that if hospital authorities had heeded to his daughter's request to terminate the pregnancy she would have survived.

Showing "concern" over the circumstances in which Savita died, India on Thursday said it is awaiting the results of two probes ordered by Irish authorities in the matter and will "take it from there".

"We deeply regret the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar. The death of an India national in such circumstances is a matter of concern. Our embassy in Dublin is following the matter closely," official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, Syed Akbaruddin said.

Akbaruddin said the MEA has also conveyed its sympathies to the family of the deceased.

Meanwhile, commenting on the sensitive issue, the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said the mother's life should not have been risked though abortion was a complete no for them.

"In a case when a mother's life is in danger, save her life and while saving the mother if something happens to the baby in the womb then no doctor or mother should be held responsible as their intention was to save a life and not to end a life. It is important that the intention should be to save the life," Rev Fr Dominique Emmanuel, Spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, was quoted by the Press Trust of India, as saying.

An estimated 4,000 Irish women travel to neighbouring England every year, where abortion has been legal on demand since 1967.