Galway University Hospital

In October 2012, at the university hospital in Galway, Savita Halappanavar sought help in vain. The woman, a dentist of Indian descent living in Ireland and seventeen weeks pregnant with her first baby, was admitted with severe back pain. After examination, the medical staff concluded that a miscarriage was inevitable. The woman's request for an abortion was denied because the heartbeat of the fetus could be detected. According to Irish law, it is not possible to terminate a pregnancy as long as there is a heartbeat and the mother's life is not in danger. 'Our hands are tied,' said the doctors who noted that Halappanavar's health was rapidly deteriorating. The woman went into septic shock, was taken to the intensive care unit, but died of cardiac arrest. She was 31 years old.

Ierland - Peter Vandermeersch