Savita Halappanavar’s husband to take Ireland abortion case to EU Human Rights Court

Dentist died of blood poisoning after doctors refused to abort miscarrying fetus

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Praveen Halappanavar pictured with his wife Savita at their home in Galway

Photo by Asia Press

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Praveen Halappanavar, the grief stricken husband of the woman who died after being refused an abortion in Ireland, has vowed to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, his lawyer told CNN on Thursday.

Savita Halappanavar died in Galway University Hospital on October 28 of blood poisoning after Irish doctors refused to abort her miscarrying fetus. Halappanavar was allegedly told that the refusal was because 'Ireland is a Catholic country' and because of Ireland's strict anti-abortion laws.

Now he is taking the case to the European court because Irish officials have failed to adequately investigate the situation, he claims.

The Irish government has launched two other investigations, but Halappanavar decided to take his own case to European court because the Irish health minister had not agreed to a public inquiry into his wife's death by Thursday.

Halappanavar also reportedly claims that some of his wife's medical records have been tampered with.

The Irish government has made no official response to the developments.

The case began in Galway in October when Savita Halappanavar began suffering severe back pain and sought medical help at the University Hospital, where she was told she was miscarrying and that her baby would likely die.

Halappanavar says his wife who was in extreme pain asked for an abortion, but Irish doctors told her that Ireland is a Catholic country and it couldn't be done while the fetus was still alive.

Three days after the request for a termination was made, the fetus eventually died as the doctors predicted and was removed. It was too late to save Halappanavar's life. Four days later, she died from a blood infection.

Halappanavar's death has provoked outrage in Ireland and internationally, where it has become an illustration of what can happen when guidelines of how and where an abortion can be performed are unclear or are prevented by law, and it has sparked demands for Ireland to revise its abortion laws to ensure no further such deaths occur.

Although the issue is being debated in Ireland's parliament, it is unclear when, or if, the political will to find a resolution will come.

However Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told the press on Wednesday that he wants a legislative decision on abortion 'as quickly as possible.' 

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