India says it regrets the death of an Indian woman who passed away in an Irish hospital last month after being denied a termination of her pregnancy.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday the death of an Indian national in such circumstances is a matter of concern.

He said Indian officials are awaiting the results of two Irish investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, who lived in Galway in western Ireland.

The 31-year-old woman was 17 weeks pregnant when she suffered severe pain as a result of a miscarriage. Doctors allegedly refused her demand for an abortion, saying Ireland is a Catholic country and that they could not do anything as long as there was a fetal heartbeat.

Halappanavar died of blood poisoning a week after she was admitted to a hospital and three days after the death of the fetus she was carrying.

Ireland's constitution bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling found it should be legal when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Opposition lawmakers are urging Ireland's government to introduce legislation to make abortion legal when the mother's life is threatened.