"About Ten Thousand People Attended A Rally In Dublin In Memory Of Savita Halappanavar" by infomatique is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

New York/The Hague, 15 November 2012 

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) deeply regrets the death due to septicaemia in a hospital in Ireland at the end of October of Ms. Savita Halappanavar.

Multiple media reports suggest that this tragic death was linked to a refusal on the part of the hospital authorities to terminate the pregnancy, requested by Ms. Halappanavar, while miscarrying and experiencing extreme back pain.

PGA welcomes the decision to launch an immediate inquiry by the Health Services Executive of Ireland as well as the observation by the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland Mr. Eamonn Gilmore that in Ireland “we need to ensure that in this country we do not have a doubt which arises in a hospital in a set of circumstances which puts a mother’s life at risk” as well as the need for greater “legal clarity” in cases of this kind.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), almost 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every day. Most of these deaths can be prevented by timely access to quality emergency obstetric care.

PGA calls upon Ireland and all other countries around the world that have not yet done so to give immediate effect to any and all international, regional and national legal obligations they have that protect a woman’s life and health to ensure that events of this kind are never repeated. 

CONTACT:
Ms. Mónica Adame
Program Officer

Tel. +1-212-687-7755 (ext 108)