Inquest Examines Death of Woman in Ireland Abortion Controversy
An inquest into the death of an Indian dentist in Ireland after she was reportedly denied an abortion for her miscarrying fetus got under way Monday in Galway.
The death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway on October 28 prompted anger in Ireland and elsewhere and sparked demands for Ireland to introduce new abortion laws.
Doctors and nurses from the Galway hospital are to give evidence at the inquest, which is expected to last at least a week.
The Halappanavar family says Savita died of blood poisoning after doctors declined to abort her miscarrying fetus because of Ireland’s strict laws. Her husband says she was advised her unborn baby would likely die.
Halappanavar, 31, went into a hospital on October 21, complaining of back pain. She was 17 weeks pregnant at the time.
The doctors who examined her told her she was having a miscarriage but denied her an abortion even though she was in extreme pain, her husband has said.
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