Widower accepts apology in Ireland abortion case
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2013, Friday
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THE husband of a woman who died after being denied an abortion in an Irish hospital accepted an apology yesterday from a midwife who, when explaining why the plea was rejected, said Ireland was "a Catholic country."
The apology came during a coroner's inquest this week into the October 28 death in University Hospital Galway of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist living in the western Ireland city.
Arguments over her death have sparked large public protests on both sides of the abortion debate, and forced the government to take action to clarify when the law permits abortion to end a life-threatening pregnancy. Such practices supposedly were legalized by a 1992 Supreme Court judgment, but governments since have refused to pass backing legislation because of strong anti-abortion sentiment in this predominantly Catholic nation. Abortion rights advocates argue that this legal confusion directly contributed to Halappanavar's death.
Halappanavar was 17 weeks pregnant when, hospitalized for pain, doctors informed her that the fetus would die. As her miscarriage pains worsened over the next three days, doctors refused her pleas for a termination because they could still detect a fetal heartbeat. By the time the fetus did die, Halappanavar was suffering from blood poisoning and died of organ failure about three days later.
The inquest, which is hearing testimony from 16 hospital staff and several external medical experts, is seeking to identify flaws in her care - and rule whether an abortion might have saved her life.
Her widower, Praveen, in November accused hospital of risking his wife's life unnecessarily in defense of Catholic doctrine. He said one official had bluntly told him, when they protested that as Hindus they should be permitted an abortion, that they couldn't because Ireland was Catholic.
The senior midwife at the hospital, Ann Maria Burke, took the stand on Wednesday. She surprised many by admitting she'd made the "Catholic country" comment and apologized directly to Praveen Halappanavar, who was present in the Galway courtroom.
"It was not said in the context to offend her. I'm sorry how it came across," Burke testified.
"It does sound very bad now, but at the time I didn't mean it that way."
The apology came during a coroner's inquest this week into the October 28 death in University Hospital Galway of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist living in the western Ireland city.
Arguments over her death have sparked large public protests on both sides of the abortion debate, and forced the government to take action to clarify when the law permits abortion to end a life-threatening pregnancy. Such practices supposedly were legalized by a 1992 Supreme Court judgment, but governments since have refused to pass backing legislation because of strong anti-abortion sentiment in this predominantly Catholic nation. Abortion rights advocates argue that this legal confusion directly contributed to Halappanavar's death.
Halappanavar was 17 weeks pregnant when, hospitalized for pain, doctors informed her that the fetus would die. As her miscarriage pains worsened over the next three days, doctors refused her pleas for a termination because they could still detect a fetal heartbeat. By the time the fetus did die, Halappanavar was suffering from blood poisoning and died of organ failure about three days later.
The inquest, which is hearing testimony from 16 hospital staff and several external medical experts, is seeking to identify flaws in her care - and rule whether an abortion might have saved her life.
Her widower, Praveen, in November accused hospital of risking his wife's life unnecessarily in defense of Catholic doctrine. He said one official had bluntly told him, when they protested that as Hindus they should be permitted an abortion, that they couldn't because Ireland was Catholic.
The senior midwife at the hospital, Ann Maria Burke, took the stand on Wednesday. She surprised many by admitting she'd made the "Catholic country" comment and apologized directly to Praveen Halappanavar, who was present in the Galway courtroom.
"It was not said in the context to offend her. I'm sorry how it came across," Burke testified.
"It does sound very bad now, but at the time I didn't mean it that way."
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