Question: Write some highlights for the following article:

By. Becky Evans. PUBLISHED:. 11:32 EST, 10 April 2013. |. UPDATED:. 14:30 EST, 10 April 2013. A midwife has apologised today for telling an Indian woman who was suffering a miscarriage that she could not have a termination in Ireland because it was a 'Catholic thing'. Ann Maria Burke admitted she made the remark to Savita Halappanavar in University Hospital Galway but insisted she meant it in kindness. The patient later died of septicemia. The senior midwife said she used the reference to Catholic teaching after the 31-year-old dentist said she was Hindu and she would have ended her pregnancy in her home country. Midwife Ann Maria Burke, pictured outside Galway Coroners court, apologised for telling Savita Halappanavar she could not have a termination because it was a 'Catholic thing' Savita Halappanavar died of a heart attack caused by septicaemia after being refused an abortion and delivering a dead baby. 'I did mention it’s a Catholic country,' Ms Burke told Galway coroner Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin. 'I didn’t mention it in a hurtful context. It was in a conversation we had.' Ms Burke said she regrets making the statement, which the coroner said 'went around the world'. 'I’m sorry that I said it,' she added. Mrs Halappanavar, 31, was admitted to hospital on Sunday, October 21 and delivered a dead baby daughter three days later. She died the following Sunday of a heart attack caused by septicaemia due to E.coli. The inquest, in its third day at Galway courthouse, has heard claims that a consultant obstetrician, Dr Katherine Astbury, made the remark to Mrs Halappanavar and her husband Praveen, and also that the midwife said it. Dr Astbury, who was cross-examined over her treatment of Mrs Halappanavar for several hours today, denies using the phrase. But the consultant has admitted there were system failures in her care and she also warned of a lack of legal clarity for doctors treating pregnant women who suffer health risks. Mrs Halappanavar was 17 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital in pain. Asked by Mr Gleeson if it would have been. insensitive, uncivilised and wrong to use the word Catholic to the. patient, Dr Astbury said: 'It’s certainly not something I would say.' Dr Astbury revealed there is confusion over how her patient was cared for, including that she had been unaware of blood test abnormalities and that the patient’s vitals should have been checked more regularly after her foetal membrane ruptured. The senior medic was asked by coroner Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin if the two aspects of Mrs Halappanavar’s care could be seen as system failures and she replied 'yes'. Dr Astbury revealed that she initially refused a request from the Halappanavars to terminate the pregnancy two days after her admission to hospital as at that time there was no risk to her life. Praveen Halappanavar, pictured arriving at the inquest, collapsed and vomited after his wife's death. 'She was well,' said Dr Astbury under cross-examination. 'There was no risk to her life. If you need to give somebody medication to deliver and there’s a foetal heartbeat, my understanding is that legally you are considered to be terminating.' Dr Astbury spoke in a loud, clear voice as widower Praveen Halappanavar, who claims she made the Catholic remark, sat with his friend, a Galway-based consultant Dr CVR Prasad. She addressed the Irish Medical Council guidelines on abortion which refer to terminating a pregnancy if there is a risk to the mother’s life. She said her understanding was that they relate to conditions such as cancer, such as women getting radiotherapy, cervical care or a hysterectomy. 'My understanding is that this is a case where a woman is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, usually unrelated to the pregnancy,' she said. Dr MacLoughlin asked if there was confusion over the interpretation of the guidelines. 'There’s no law to tell you what you what is permitted or not permitted,' she replied. Dr Astbury admitted there were system failures in her care at Galway University Hospital (pictured) Savita Halappanavar and Praveen Halappanavar at an event for the Indian community in Galway. Dr Astbury insisted that when she told. Mrs Halappanavar she could not abort the baby on the Tuesday, she used. the words: 'In this country it is not legal to terminate a pregnancy on. grounds of poor prognosis of the foetus.' The. doctor agreed that in other jurisdictions Mrs Halappanavar would have. been offered the option of a termination if the prognosis of her foetus. was poor. 'The law in Ireland does not permit termination even if there’s no prospect of viability,' she said. Dr Astbury saw Mrs Halappanavar at. 8.30am on the Wednesday during her morning round, about two hours after a. junior colleague raised concerns over her vitals and condition and. suspected sepsis chorioamnionitis, an infection of the foetal membrane. She. said the patient’s temperature and pulse rate had fallen in that time. and that she had not been told of an earlier entry on the medical notes. highlighting a sign of chorioamnionitis. Dr. Astbury said that had she known this she would then have started the. steps for a termination, instead of ordering tests to check for a urine. infection. 'A medical termination usually takes several hours, but I would have started it,' she said.

Highlights:
Answer: Ann Maria Burke admitted using the words to Savita Halappanavar. The nurse said she meant it as a kindness and not in a 'hurtful context' Savita later died of a heart attack after suffering from septicemia and an inquest is being held into her death at University Hospital Galway. Consultant Dr Katherine Astbury told hearing she did not use the remark. Dr Astbury admitted there were system failures in the care of the dentist.