On what should have been his fifth wedding anniversary, Praveen Halappanavar was instead at a coroner's court, hearing a jury deliver a verdict of medical misadventure in the death of his wife, who was told by an Irish hospital that she could not have a termination "because it is a Catholic thing".
Halappanavar, whose wife Savita died in Galway last October, afterwards launched a scathing attack on the hospital, declaring: "It's horrendous, barbaric and inhumane the way Savita was treated."
The inquest concluded Halappanavar's death was specifically due to sepsis, E.coli and miscarriage. The jury had heard evidence from Dr Peter Boylan, one of Ireland's leading obstetricians, that it was highly likely the woman would still be alive had she been given a termination when she and her husband had requested one.
The previously fit and healthy Halappanavar was 17 weeks' pregnant when she died.
A spokesman for the hospital acknowledged there had been lapses in the standard of care provided, saying deficiencies would be rectified and all the recommendations taken on board.
