Ireland’s Catholic bishops have denounced proposed legislation on abortion, saying it “appears to impose a duty on Catholic hospitals to provide abortions”. Supporters of the Irish abortion bill say it would give “conscience-clause” protection to health-care personnel who did not wish to be involved in abortions, but the bishops question that claim. Ironically, the proposed Read more
An Irish inquest into the death of a woman who was refused an abortion — a case that ignited demands to liberalise the country’s abortion laws — has revealed she died of an undiagnosed infection, not from being denied an abortion. Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist, died in Galway University Hospital last October, a Read more
An Irish midwife has apologised for telling a terminally ill patient she could not have an abortion in Ireland because “it’s a Catholic country”. Ann Maria Burke admitted she made the remark to Savita Halappanavar last October but insisted that it was meant it in kindness. She was testifying at an inquest into the death Read more
Catholic and pro-life leaders have strongly criticised the Irish government for deciding to introduce legislation to legalise abortion in cases where the mother’s life is deemed to be at risk. The Fine Gael-run government’s action follows the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who was admitted to a Galway hospital while miscarrying. She reportedly Read more
Ireland contra mundum – or more accurately, mundus contra Hiberniam – seems to be the burden of shrill, not to say lurid headlines circling the globe since Wednesday of last week, when the story broke about the tragic death of a pregnant Indian woman in a Galway hospital on October 28. But the facts surrounding Read more
While protesters in Ireland and India rally against the Irish abortion law following the death of a Hindu woman who was refused an abortion, Ireland’s Catholic bishops have affirmed that the Catholic Church “has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”. The protests Read more
The death of a pregnant woman who repeatedly asked for an abortion, but was told “this is a Catholic country”, has ignited the abortion debate in Ireland. Savita Halappanavar, a Hindu dentist originally from India, died of blood poisoning in Galway University Hospital. She was aged 31. Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, told news media that Read more