2000 people protest in Dublin after death of woman refused an abortion

Candlelight vigils also took place in Cork and London

Dublin abortion protest
Dublin abortion protest
(Image credit: PA)

Candlelight vigils also took place in Cork and London

A protest outside the Irish Parliament in Dublin yesterday evening saw 2,000 people gather to call for reform of abortion laws.

This followed the death of Savita Halappanavar in hospital, who suffered a miscarriage but was told she could not have a termination due to Ireland being a catholic country.

Protestors held a minute's silence for Ms Halappanavar, who was a dentist, originally from India.

Another protest was held outside the Irish Embassy in London, and a candlelight vigil was held outside Cork's opera house.

Her grieving husband Praveen Halappanavar has told the BBC he believes his wife would still be alive had she been allowed to have an abortion.

Her death, on 28 October, is the subject of two investigations.

Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother.

However in January the Irish government created a 14-member expert group to make recommendations based on a 2010 European Court of Human Rights judgment that the country was failing to implement existing rights to lawful abortion where a mother's life was at risk.

The group will be reporting back to the Irish Minister for Health shortly.

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