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The death of Savita Halappanavar on 28 October 2012, at University Hospital Galway in Ireland, led to protesters calling for a review of the abortion laws in Ireland, which they claimed were responsible for her death. Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian woman, originally from Belgaum in the Indian State of Karnataka, was working in Ireland as a dentist. When she was 17 weeks pregnant, she sought medical attention and treatment at University Hospital Galway as she began suffering from a miscarriage, which was later assessed to most likely to have been triggered by a bacterial infection, infections that would ultimately claim her life.〔 Beginning no earlier than the date of her hospital admission, October 21, she repeatedly requested an abortion for her miscarrying fetus but was refused, instead being told by Katherine Astbury her obstetrician that as she then appeared physically well, and her fetus had a heartbeat, her life did not appear to be in danger and therefore this was not legal.〔 After Ms. Halappanavar engaged in a conversation with her midwife Ann Burke, that in India and Hinduism abortions on request were possible, Ms. Burke commented that "this is a Catholic country" but later said it "had came out the wrong way" and it "had nothing to do with medical care at all".〔 On the night of October 23, according to her husband Praveen, Ms. Halappanavar was standing in a restroom and collapsed.〔http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/14/15164593-tragic-savita-case-reignites-abortion-debate-in-ireland?lite〕 The following day October 24, the heartbeat of her foetus ceased,〔 and the remains were removed from her uterus in the operating theatre, at approximately the time that the results of her blood samples came back with a diagnosis of septic shock,〔http://web.archive.org/web/20131130144631/http://www.hiqa.ie/press-release/2013-10-09-patient-safety-investigation-report-published-health-information-and-qualit page 64 of "investigative report" pdf.〕 Savita Halappanavar's septicemia then further deteriorated despite being treated with oral antibiotics for infection since late October 22 and intravenous antibiotics since October 24.〔http://web.archive.org/web/20131130144631/http://www.hiqa.ie/press-release/2013-10-09-patient-safety-investigation-report-published-health-information-and-qualit page 37 of investigative report pdf〕 Both were ineffective and her condition rapidly evolved to the point of organ failure and finally cardiac arrest and death on 28 October 2012.〔〔 Soon afterward Ms. Halappanavar's husband and friends, who believed that had his wife had an abortion when she requested one she would be alive, began contacting pro-choice groups in Galway.〔〔 Aided by pro-choice groups who had foreknowledge that her death was to be made into "major news related to the denial of abortion", The news of Halappanavar's death spread rapidly through both traditional and social media outlets, with one of the original stories in ''The Irish Times'' on 14 November receiving over 700,000 hits by 17 November,〔 which exclusively contained Mr. Halappanavar's account of the tragedy alone. Protests were held calling for a change in the abortion laws in Ireland, which protesters claimed had led to Ms. Halappanavar's death. Indian diplomatic and consular officials requested an official inquiry into the events surrounding Halappanavar's death. The United Nations Special Rapporteur for physical and mental health also became involved, saying abortion should be legal if a pregnancy is adversely impacting a woman's health. However medical terminations had previously been performed at the University Hospital when complications had arisen in pregnancy, as it is permitted by Irish law to save the life of the mother. In 2012 the independent Dr. Sam Coulter-Smith, an obstetrics & gynaecologist, said: "This case probably does not have a lot to do with abortion laws." The Health Service Executive (HSE) named Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, president of the British Medical Association to head a seven-member panel to investigate the case in 2012. The panel would seek to uncover all the facts and "to identify any safety issues arising in this case". In September 2013 Praveen Halappanavar's solicitor served legal proceedings against Galway University Hospital and separately against Dr. Katherine Astbury. The proceedings claim that Savita's constitutional right to life had been breached. The investigative report into her death was published in October 2013 and determined that had the patient received intervention with antibiotics as a prophylaxis immediately following the spontaneous rupture of membranes at 00:20 on October 22, instead of first administration occurring 21 hours later, then in the opinion of the investigative team the outcome would potentially have been quite different.〔http://web.archive.org/web/20131130144631/http://www.hiqa.ie/press-release/2013-10-09-patient-safety-investigation-report-published-health-information-and-qualit page 59, 60,70 & 175 of investigative report. pdf〕 Some reports indicate that hospital protocols on early antibiotic treatment had not been followed.〔 Mortality due to maternal sepsis is the leading cause of maternal death in other countries including Britain and its rate is increasing. Severe sepsis and septic shock are major worldwide healthcare problems, affecting millions of people, leading to a mortality rate of one in four, and is increasing in incidence worldwide. Studies have found that survival rates following sepsis are related to early recognition and initiation of treatment.〔http://web.archive.org/web/20131130144631/http://www.hiqa.ie/press-release/2013-10-09-patient-safety-investigation-report-published-health-information-and-qualit page 20 & 69 & 177 of pdf〕 In response to the media storm and pro-choice protests that resulted from her death, in which it was claimed that abortion could have saved her life, and prior to the medical panels investigation being published, in July 2013 a ''Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013'' was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins that permits abortion in Ireland if the mother is suicidal. 31 October 2013 commentators on the case and law argue that the denial of abortion story was a convenient "smokescreen" to focus attention away from the protocol failures within the hospital, which should have suspected infection immediately upon admission to the facility and that Savita’s death was used by pro-choice elements to "grease the wheels of the Pregnancy Act", which would have had no effect on her had it then been in place.〔(VICTORIA WHITE: Savita’s death is not about abortion, it is about medical negligence Thursday, October 31, 2013 )〕 ==Background== Under previous Irish law, according to the Offences against the Person Act 1861, as amended, the act of abortion, where there is no immediate physiological threat to the woman's life to continue the pregnancy, is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment. 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 was at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide". However this "suicide" clause had not been finalized in legislation at the time of Halappanavar's death. Medical terminations had previously been performed at the University Hospital when life-threatening complications had clearly arisen in pregnancy, including cases a year previous to Halappanavar's death, as it is Irish law to save the life of the mother in such cases.〔〔 Microbiologist Dr James Clair〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dr James Clair )〕 stated that the "main problem is being missed" in the case, and the real issue was that the septicemia was caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase positive gram negative bacteria (ESBL), which "are now spreading rapidly within the Irish population" and are resistant to many known antibiotic treatments. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Death of Savita Halappanavar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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