Ireland’s ambassador to India Feilim McLaughlin has been called to meet India’s Minister for External Affairs over the death of tragic mum to be Savita Halappanavar.
The demand came as anger mounts in India over the refusal of a Galway hospital to terminate Savita’s pregnancy and save her life.
The ambassador was told of the ‘concern and angst in Indian society at the untimely and tragic death’ according to a report in the Hindu Times.
The paper reports that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid echoed the views of the Indian public in the meeting.
Khurshid told reporters: “Saving the life of the mother is of prime importance, if you can’t save the life of the child.”
Ambassador McLaughlin was also told that India hoped the inquiry into the death would be independent.
The Minister and his staff told McLaughlin that India was unhappy that a young life had come to an untimely end and hoped the Indian Ambassador in Dublin Debashish Chakravarti would be regularly updated on the progress of the probe.
Ambassador Chakravarti also attended a Dublin meeting with Ireland’s deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore who also serves as the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Chakravarti told the Indian media than he was assured that the Irish government is ‘committed to establishing the full circumstances and facts’ of the Savita case.
The meetings in India and Ireland came ahead of a series of protests in Dublin, Cork and Belfast on Saturday.
Ireland’s Health Minister James Reilly assured the media that Savita’s family will learn the full facts behind her tragic death.
Minister Reilly said: “Her family are entitled to know as quickly as possible what the facts of the situation were. They will not have to wait one minute longer than necessary.
“I know this is an extremely difficult and traumatic time for them and I don’t want to see either of the investigations delay one minute longer than they have to and leave this family in doubt as to what really happened.”
The Indian Ambassador to Dublin, Chakravarti said the incident had caused great pain and anguish among the Indian community in Ireland but he insisted that it would not affect the relations between the two countries which he described as ‘extremely cordial.'
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.OldMariner | Nov 19, 2012, 04:55 PM EST
What chutzpah of the Indian government. Despite this personal tragedy, the real focus should be is why can't India retain most of its professional class who flee the country when they can.
eiriamach | Nov 19, 2012, 11:09 AM EST
Pro-choice and women's advocacy groups did not kill Savita Halappanavar. This rush to defend indefensible laws that allow women with crisis pregnancies to die under the influence of a Catholic "life" ethos will not succeed in demonizing "neo-liberals," "multicultural polyglot," or any others concerned that Ireland's archaic laws deprive women of basic human rights. Hurling insults like "profane values" at people who care about women's lives is churlish children's behavior.
IrelandNorth | Nov 19, 2012, 07:30 AM EST
Ireland beware! With the decline and fall of the ecclesia which styled itself the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church (HRC&AC), a new hierarchy is establishing itself on the rubble. When these commissars of the Church of Political Correctness (CPC) get into full swing, they'll make the Dominican Spanish Inquisition seem like a warm-up act (if you'll pardon the pun). Witch Finder General Bernardo Gyui will be made to look like a mere choir boy by comparison. Post-modern Ireland is in the clutches of a small vociferous minority of neo-liberals who'll will expel the native population as thoroughly as Oliver Cromwell, and replace it with a socioeconomic multicultural polyglot which shares its profane values.
Gearoid4 | Nov 18, 2012, 02:28 PM EST
And ending of a pregnancy unfortunately can happen when doctors intervene to save the life of the mother and baby if possible. But these cases tragic though they are, are rare in Ireland, and one cannot help feeling that the clamor for quick legislation to remedy situations like this, are being used in an opportunistic way by radical,leftist elements. They may publicly state that they want abortion for certain situations, when in reality they are hoping for abortion-on-demand. The Irish government should not be railroaded by this orchestrated campaign into making a fateful decision regarding this.
eiriamach | Nov 18, 2012, 02:09 PM EST
Under the influence of the Catholic bishops, Irish law has historically rejected the moral sense of the Indian Minister and most other human beings on this planet: "Khurshid told reporters: 'Saving the life of the mother is of prime importance, if you can’t save the life of the child.'” Catholic theology acknowledges the concept of "patient autonomy," the right of a patient to weight the benefits and burdens of a life-saving medical procedure and to decide to use it or refuse it. With its stance against abortion, however, the Catholic Church absolutely refuses to allow this autonomy to pregnant women. In effect, RC hierarchy have decreed that pregnant women have no choices. This is the male tyranny that Ireland wrote into its constitution. Will Ireland finally catch up with protecting the human rights of women as other developed nations with medical means do? Or will it compromise by leaving women at the mercy of priests and bishops, as it did with generations of children?
EamonnDublin | Nov 18, 2012, 12:59 PM EST
"Lawyer4", If you are ashamed to be Irish, you can always go live in India and take out Indian citizenship after living there for the qualifying period of time. Good luck. On yer bike! Éamonn, Dublin. VERY Proud to be IRISH !!!
EamonnDublin | Nov 18, 2012, 07:00 AM EST
I have just discovered that ELEVEN women died of septicaemia last year in England, in the very same childbirth circumstances as the Indian lady here in Ireland. England HAS abortion, more or less on demand. England is NOT a Catholic country and does NOT have a Catholic ethos. For all you abusers of Ireland and Catholicism in this matter, Case Closed. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland - and Proud to be VERY Irish!!! P.S. This is not in any way a negative comment toward England - I am totally confident that its most admirable doctors and nurses did their very best to save the lives of these ladies.
sprucecorner | Nov 17, 2012, 09:28 PM EST
It is unconditionally appalling that a woman has to die due to draconian and barbaric attitudes that, frighteningly enough might soon be the law of the land in the US. The Catholic Church continues to draw attention to its irrelevancy. However, I would like to see the Indian government address the barbaric attitudes toward females that are an ongoing situation in their own country. How many female embryos were aborted today in India, How many brides were burned. Think again if you think that is archaic and medieval and not practiced today. These practices seem to be increasing in frequency rather than decreasing with the growing middle and upper middle class. The hypocrisy is reprehensible
Cyn | Nov 17, 2012, 09:14 PM EST
Good. I hope he has a decent explanation of why a non viable, dying fetus's life was more important that a productive grown up. I hope this resonates through the world and women are finally recognized as more than an incubator. I hope her husband sues for the entire worth of the Church that killed her.
EamonnDublin | Nov 17, 2012, 06:56 PM EST
"Alisaann" - And what on earth would you happen to know that enables you to call the hospital for "malpractice" - or that they "allowed religion to get in the way of giving care"? Go shoot your mouth off about something else and wait until we hear some more details about this matter. The bandwagon has loads of room for people like you, but it's going in the wrong direction. Éamonn, Dublin.
alisaann | Nov 17, 2012, 05:44 PM EST
that young woman DID NOT HAVE TO DIE...the hospital should be SUED for MALPRACTICE....they allowed RELIGION to get in the WAY of giving care that was needed.....what happened to "DO NO HARM"?...guess ireland doesn't have that oath....sad....really sad. alisa
Murph46 | Nov 17, 2012, 05:18 PM EST
WoundedKnee-Sometimes (and only sometimes)you make so much sense,that even I can agree with you!
canadianirish | Nov 17, 2012, 05:07 PM EST
Bravo, WoundedKnee. Thank you for having the courage to say what I'm sure many are thinking. You are bang on in your assessment.
WoundedKnee | Nov 17, 2012, 02:44 PM EST
Might be a good idea to get the Indian Ambassador to Britain involved also. The London Telegraph newspaper of 22 Feb 2012 showed <<"undercover filming of Miss Prabha Sivaraman, a consultant who works for both private clinics and NHS hospitals in Manchester, told a pregnant woman who said she wanted to abort a female foetus, "I don''t ask questions. If you want a termination, you want a termination". She later telephoned a colleague to book the procedure, explaining that it was for “social reasons” and the woman “doesn’t want questions asked”.>> Maybe one of the distinguished Indian Ambassadors would care to express an opinion on a society which aborts girl babies because they are girls? And maybe some of our own looney feminists would care to comment also? India is so progressive, compared to conservative old Ireland....
WoundedKnee | Nov 17, 2012, 12:54 PM EST
lawyer-- I used to value my Irish passport, but sharing it with bigots and self-haters such as you makes me think of throwing it in the Savannah river. I have a better idea, though. Why don't you take out an Indian passport? Then as "new Indian" you can happily pick your way thru the excrement-filled streets of your homeland, happy that you are with your peers and that those dreadful Irish are far away.
WoundedKnee | Nov 17, 2012, 12:50 PM EST
MichaelMcGrath: Well said. Contact with my sources in Ireland tells me that the silent majority has now mobilized. While all Irish people were saddened by the death of this young woman, most are now sick of the crawthumping and vicious anti-Irish slurs of the Mass Immigrationist set. The last straw is to see Indian media insulting Ireland. India, a country where excrement flows freely in the streets, where rich people think nothing of taking a stick and beating someone who is poor, where female unborn children are often aborted, where even in some areas a widow is expected to lie on the funeral pyre of her husband and suffer burning to death.. And some stupid poodle Irish turn over and act supine in the face of these jerks? They're crazy, but we have countless previous examples of the spinelessness of the ruling class in Ireland. Try the EU, for one example.
CitizenWhy | Nov 17, 2012, 11:59 AM EST
MichaelMcGrath, what a vicious and mean spirited comment to make about this tragic death. You're carrying Ireland's despicable habit of begrudgery to a new height.
lawyer4 | Nov 17, 2012, 11:56 AM EST
I really don't know which is worse - the shame of being from a country quite rightly criticised all over the world for medieval attitudes to women's health, or the sheer embarrassment of carrying the same passport as the ignorant hill-billies who make ill-informed and racist comments like MichaelMcGrath's.
MichaelMcGrath | Nov 17, 2012, 10:30 AM EST
India should be grateful to Ireland for all the Billions we spend on their immigrants in Health, Welfare especially, Education and Housing - they are in no position to be shouting off their mouths about us:-) Immigrants will not be allowed to change Irish law. They should know and accept our laws before they come begging here to Ireland! We have a craven government and cowardly political parties - but India is well advised not to dictate to the Irish People:-)
Portia777 | Nov 17, 2012, 10:22 AM EST
Khurshid told reporters: “Saving the life of the mother is of prime importance, if you can’t save the life of the child." Not under Roman law it isn't. Baby first to get the new soul, mother is only the hired womb in their eyes.