Irish lawmakers are considering a bill that would loosen the country's ban on abortion by clarifying a doctor's right to approve an abortion in cases where the mother's life is at risk, including the possibility of suicide, WORLD reports. That exception to the ban could open the door for abortion-on-demand in the staunchly pro-life country. Although supported by abortion rights activists, the measure likely will face stiff opposition from the majority of the country's Catholic residents. The proposed bill comes just a week after an inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar, a woman who died from a lethal infection. Pro-abortion activists said Halappanavar's life could have been saved if doctors had allowed her to have an abortion. But after hearing testimony from medical experts, a judge ruled Halappanavar's death was the result of the hospital’s mismanagement of her severe infection.
