Following the tragic death of a pregnant women denied abortion to save her life, IPPF EN calls on the government of Ireland to urgently reform the abortion legislation

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IPPF European Network (IPPF EN) is outraged at the news of the death of a pregnant woman in Ireland who was repeatedly denied a potentially life-saving abortion. IPPF EN joins the thousands of people that rallied outside Ireland&#39;s parliament on Wednesday and will continue to do so this weekend all over Europe to demand that the strict abortion rules be eased to avoid further tragedies.</p>
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Savita Halappanavar, 31, admitted to University Hospital Galway in the west of Ireland last month, died of septicaemia a week after miscarrying 17 weeks into her pregnancy. Her repeated requests for termination were rejected because of the presence of a fetal heartbeat, her husband told state broadcaster RTE. &ldquo;<em>We are sadly reminded that a woman&rsquo;s right to life in Ireland is not protected and that women&rsquo;s human rights are far from being respected in a European Union country</em>&rdquo;, says Vicky Claeys, IPPF EN Regional Director. &ldquo;<em>Women living in Ireland should never ever be at risk of losing their life because of Catholic doctrine</em>&rdquo;. <em>We demand that the Irish government closes the loophole in the legislation that is still unclear that abortion is allowed when there is a threat to the life of the pregnant woman&rdquo;. </em></p>
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On 16 December 2010, In cases brought against Ireland by 3 women &ndash; A, B and C &ndash; the European Court of Human Rights made a unanimous decision that abortion, in certain circumstances, should be legalized in Ireland. The European Court of Human Rights found that Ireland in the case of A, B and C was in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide an accessible and effective procedure to ascertain whether a woman qualified for a legal abortion.</p>
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In 2012, the Human <em>Rights Council</em> Universal Periodic <em>Review</em> <strong>(1)</strong> put Ireland under obligation to improve human rights in terms of access to abortion. UN Member States made recommendations to Ireland in relation to the restrictive abortion regime in Irish law and the call for firm timelines for the implementation of the judgment of the European Convention and Human Rights. Ireland had been asked to go beyond the A, B &amp; C judgment and either decriminalise abortion or allow for abortion in the case of rape, incest and when a woman&rsquo;s health and wellbeing are at risk.</p>
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<strong>The UPR is the United Nations mechanism whereby all 192 UN Member States are allowed to examine human rights records of their fellow nations every four years. </strong></li>
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Contact: &nbsp;Irene Donadio: IPPF EN Manager Public Affairs – idonadioppfen.org</p>
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<strong>Abortion in Ireland<br />
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Abortion is against the law in Ireland unless the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman. Since 1980, some 150,000 women have travel abroad to access safe abortion services. This highlights the hypocrisy of Ireland&rsquo;s abortion regulations which are among the most restrictive in the world.<br />
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Ireland&rsquo;s restrictive laws on abortion are totally out of step with those of its European neighbours. Forty four out of 47 European countries provide for abortion to protect women&rsquo;s health. The overwhelming consensus throughout Europe allows for some access to legal abortion to protect a woman&rsquo;s health and well-being, applying a more effective, less punitive approach than that which is in force in Ireland.</strong></p>