Savita was told it’s a ‘Catholic thing’

Hotly disputed remarks that labelled Ireland as a country that denies a termination to seriously ill women who are miscarrying were admitted for the first time yesterday.

Ever since his wife died at Galway University Hospital on Oct 28, Praveen Halappanavar has insisted that his pregnant wife Savita was repeatedly refused a termination because “Ireland is a Catholic country”.

Mrs Halappanavar was in the process of losing her unborn baby at 17 weeks when she had a conversation in her hospital room with midwife manager Ann Maria Burke on Oct 23.