New Delhi: The Irish cabinet has reached an agreement which will allow limited legal abortions for the first time ever. This historic bill is part of legislative changes that were promised after Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died after she was denied a life-saving abortion.
The new bill, which will have to be passed in both houses of the Irish Parliament, will allow for limited legal termination where there is a threat to the mother's life. Savita was 17 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to University Hospital Galway and died of blood poisoning four days after delivering a dead foetus. An inquest into her death in April revealed that her two requests for termination were turned down on the grounds that Ireland is a "Catholic country".
The Irish government, which was already reviewing the country's stringent laws on termination, had reassured the public on arriving at a consensus on the issue following international outrage over Savita's case. New laws would mean that hospitals will have clear, legal guidelines when they considered requests for an emergency termination.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill has deeply divided the government of Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and some Catholic conservatives within his own party have vowed to reject the bill. While the new bill allows for maternal protection, including in cases of a credible threat of suicide, it does not include cases concerning rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities....
more
05:14 PM, May 01, 2013
London: Savita Halappanavar's consultant obstetrician has admitted there were a number of system failures in her care at Galway University Hospital, where the 17-week pregnant Indian dentist died last October. Dr Katherine Astbury told the ongoing inquest into Savita's death at Galway Courthouse in Ireland that she was unaware of blood test abnormalities, adding that the patient's vitals should have been checked more regularly after her foetal membrane ruptured. According...
08:31 PM, Apr 10, 2013
An Indian-origin woman, who beat her son "like a dog" for not being able to memorise passages of the Quran, has been found guilty by a British court of murdering him and setting his body on fire to hide evidence. Sara Ege, 33, a mathematics graduate from India, was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday of beating her son Yaseen Ege to death at their home in Pontcanna,...
04:23 PM, Dec 06, 2012
The husband of Savita Halappanavar will proceed with an application to the European Court of Human Rights after Irish Health Minister did not agree for a public inquiry into the circumstances leading to her death. ...
06:15 AM, Nov 30, 2012
The Irish government has said it will make a decision before the year-end about the country's tough abortion laws, weeks after Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died after she was refused termination of her pregnancy despite miscarrying. ...
05:12 PM, Nov 28, 2012
Ciarán Cannon, TD Ireland's Minister for Education and Skills talks about abortion law in Ireland and Savita's case. ...
06:02 PM, Nov 26, 2012
The probe into Savita Halappanavar's death will be completed before Christmas, Ireland's Health Minister has said, even as her distraught husband was considering lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman to assert ownership of his wife's medical notes. ...
11:29 PM, Nov 25, 2012
Ireland: In a rare intervention, the Irish President Michael D Higgins came out in support of the demand of Savita Halappanavar's family for an independent inquiry into her death saying that any investigation 'must meet the needs of the family'. Meanwhile, Savita's husband Praveen Halappanavar told CNN-IBN that her medical report was tampered with. Praveen has been demanding an independent public probe into the circumstances that led to her death....
06:07 AM, Nov 23, 2012
New Delhi: The Prime Minister of Ireland Enda Kenny has claimed that Savita Halappanavar's husband was not cooperating in the investigation of his wife's death. The Irish Prime Minister requested Savitas husband Parveen to meet the head of the investigation team Sabaratnam Arulkumaran. Savita's husband has demanded for an impartial investigation into the death of her wife after she was allegedly refused abortion.Three doctors have been removed from investigating team....
11:59 AM, Nov 22, 2012
New Delhi: Ireland has dropped three doctors of the Galway University Hospital from the team that will probe death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who died due to pregnancy-related complications after being denied abortion. An announcement in this regard was made by Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Parliament barely within hours of unveiling of a seven-member team to probe the tragic death. Irish media reports say that doctors who...
06:05 AM, Nov 21, 2012
London: Facing all round flak, Ireland on Tuesday announced a seven-member team headed by a noted Sri Lankan doctor to probe the tragic death of an Indian dentist after doctors allegedly refused to terminate her 17-week pregnancy despite serious complications, saying "this is a Catholic country". It also promised that the official inquiry would be fair, methodical and expeditious taking into account all factors. The Health Service Executive (HSE) set...
11:40 PM, Nov 20, 2012
London: Amidst a raging debate on the country's strict abortion laws, Ireland's Catholic bishops have said that the church "has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother". Reacting to the death of Savita Halappanavar, the standing committee of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference said on Monday night that her passing, along with her unborn child, was "a devastating...
05:32 PM, Nov 20, 2012
New Delhi: The Irish cabinet is expected to discuss amendments to its anti-abortion law on Tuesday. This a day before the Irish Parliament discussed an expert committee's report into the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar. The 31-year old died of complications on the October 28 after being denied a life-saving abortion following a miscarriage. Savita's husband Praveen is now back in Dublin after performing her last rites in India....
06:32 AM, Nov 20, 2012
London: The Irish Cabinet will take up a report of an expert group on abortion on Tuesday as thousands of people in Ireland protest the tragic death of an Indian dentist. Irish Health Minister James Reilly has said he will be bringing the report of the expert group to the Cabinet on Tuesday. Savita Halappanavar, 31, died in an Irish hospital in October after doctors refused to terminate her pregnancy...
04:56 PM, Nov 19, 2012
London: Observing that the tragic death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar illustrates a gap in Irish law, rights group Amnesty on Saturday asked Ireland to ensure that its domestic policy on access to abortion is in line with international human rights law. Amnesty International has written to Irish Minister for Health James Reilly over the issue expressing its concern. It said Amnesty is concerned that the tragic case of Savita...
09:06 AM, Nov 17, 2012
New Delhi: After the tragic death of a 31-year-old Indian dentist in Ireland, Savita Halappanavar, India has formally spoken to authorities in Dublin. But as the probe goes on, it has been found that thousands of women from Ireland are forced to travel to England for abortions. Savita was unfortunate to get trapped into a difficult choice in hospital. But other women simply travel abroad to exercise the choice that...
07:09 AM, Nov 17, 2012
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday summoned the Irish ambassador following the uproar over the death of an Indian woman in Ireland after a hospital denied her an abortion. Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar was denied the termination of her pregnancy under the country's anti-abortion law even though her life was in danger. The Indian government took up Savita's death directly and the Indian ambassador in Dublin met...
03:56 PM, Nov 16, 2012
New Delhi: The Indian government took up Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar's death in Ireland directly and the Indian ambassador in Dublin met Irish authorities on Friday after there were protests outside Irish parliament on Thursday. Meanwhile, Ireland has ordered two probes into the incident that took place earlier this week after doctors refused to abort Savita's baby despite a miscarriage. India will, however, not conduct an independent probe of its...
10:35 AM, Nov 16, 2012
New Delhi: The tragic death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar's in Ireland sparked an outrage and brought the debate on the abortion laws to the fore front. Activists say medical negligence and not the Catholic Church should be blamed for Savita's death. The Indian ambassador in Dublin is expected to meet Irish authorities on Friday to discuss the case directly. However, India won't conduct an independent probe of its own....
07:28 AM, Nov 16, 2012
Irish Times reporter Kitty Holland, who first highlighted the case of the pregnant Indian woman's death, talks about the fallout of the incident. ...
11:48 PM, Nov 15, 2012
