Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Woman dead after being refused abortion

Updated at 11:26 pm on 15 November 2012

Two investigations have begun in the Republic of Ireland into the death of a woman who was refused an abortion.

The family of Savita Halappanavar says she asked several times for her pregnancy to be terminated because she had severe back pain and was miscarrying.

Her husband told the BBC that it was refused because there was a foetal heartbeat.

According to the Irish Times, an autopsy carried out two days after Ms Halappanavar's death on 28 October, found she died from septicaemia.

Praveen Halappanavar says he had no doubt that his wife would still be alive if the termination had been allowed.

But staff at University Hospital Galway told them Ireland was "a Catholic country".

Ms Halappanavar, 31, who was originally from India, was a dentist. She was a Hindu and the pregnancy was her first.

Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand