The coroner presiding over an inquest into an Indian woman who died after being refused an emergency abortion in an Irish hospital has asked for a midwife to be identified.

Dr Ciaran McLoughlin said the midwife should be named after a friend of Savita Halappanavar claimed the staff member at Galway University hospital had denied the 31-year-old a termination "because we don't do that here; it's a Catholic thing".

He made his request during the second day of the inquest into the dentist's death in October.

Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, said the couple had asked three times for an emergency termination after his wife became gravely ill and they were told the foetus she had been carrying for 17 weeks was unviable.

Mrudula Vasealli told Galway court on Tuesday that she had visited Savita Halappanavar two days after she was admitted to the hospital. She said her friend had been told days earlier that she was miscarrying and was very upset.

The inquest heard that Savita Halappanavar said: "What sort of mother am I waiting for my baby to stop its heartbeat? I'm losing it, I'm losing it terribly."

Vasealli said the midwife checked with the doctor who told them there was no way of saving the baby.

Lawyers for the hospital say they are not obliged to hand over the roster to Praveen Halappanavar's lawyers, who wish to identify the midwife on duty. They added that a doctor who treated Savita Halappanavar would strenuously deny making any reference to Ireland being a Catholic country as the reason for denying her repeated requests for an abortion.

McLoughlin said it was the hospital's "best guess" that the staff member referred to was a clinical midwife manager. It was difficult to be certain who the woman was as there were a number of midwives on duty, he added.

Two nurses, including a clinical midwife, have made statements to the inquest but have not been called as witnesses.

At least 16 witnesses from the hospital, as well as experts, are scheduled to give evidence.