Abortion rights groups then organised on the Irish Choice Network (ICN) email group before the story broke. Galway Pro-Choice put them in contact with The Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland, on 7 November.

On 3 November 2012, friends and family of the Halappanavars contacted local abortion rights groups (Galway Pro-Choice) to find out what they could do, with dozens of her friends and family meeting in person on the 6th. However at the time of Halappanavar's death, there was legal uncertainty regarding the precise circumstances in which this exception to preserve the life of the mother would apply in practice, as the matter had not yet been enacted in legislation. Following a ruling of the Supreme Court of Ireland in 1992 – now known in Ireland as the X case – terminations are allowed under certain circumstances, where 'a pregnant woman's life is at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide'. The law in force at the time stated that the act of abortion, where there was no immediate physiological threat to the woman's life to continue the pregnancy, was a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment. The HSE also recommended changes to the legal situation and training of doctors about the law. They made recommendations about training and policies for the hospital locally along with a number of national recommendations, including the creation of a laboratory system to coordinate a national response to emerging microbial threats. Both criticized the team for not diagnosing the sepsis soon enough and for not using already-standard screening tools for detecting and managing maternal sepsis, and for poor keeping of medical records, poor communication at shift changes, and failure to notify staff with needed expertise, and criticized the administration of the hospital for the poor system in which the team failed. The Health Service Executive (HSE) and Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) conducted an investigation. : 53 : 44–46 Aftermath Īfter her death, a coroner's inquest was held, finding that she died of medical misadventure. : 33 Afterwards, Halappanavar developed sepsis and, despite doctors' efforts to treat her, had a cardiac arrest at 1:09 AM on 28 October, at the age of 31, and died.

: 22–26 : 29 The following day, on 23 October, Halappanavar discussed abortion with her consulting physician but her request was promptly refused, as Irish law at that time forbade abortion if a fetal heartbeat was still present. She was admitted to hospital, as it was determined that miscarriage was unavoidable, and several hours later, just after midnight on 22 October, her water broke but did not expel the fetus. She returned to the hospital later that day, this time complaining of lower pressure, a sensation she described as feeling 'something coming down', and a subsequent examination found that the gestational sac was protruding from her body. On 21 October 2012, Halappanavar, then 17 weeks pregnant, was examined at University Hospital Galway after complaining of back pain, but was soon discharged without a diagnosis.

2.4 Subsequent comments by Sabaratnam Arulkumaranĭeath Summary of events.

1.6 Response of anti-abortion organisations in 2012.1.5 Response of abortion rights organisations in 2012.1.3 Response from the medical community.

Savita vellema