CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008 and socio-economic background. In order to review these allegations the Committee first has to consider whether the death was “maternal”. It will then consider whether the obligations under article 12, paragraph 2, of the Convention, according to which States parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, have been met in this case. Only after these considerations will the Committee review the other alleged violations of the Convention. 7.3 Although the State party argued that Ms. da Silva Pimentel Teixeira’s death was non-maternal and that the probable cause of her death was digestive haemorrhage, the Committee notes that the sequence of events described by the author and not contested by the State party, as well as expert opinion provided by the author, indicate that her death was indeed linked to obstetric compli cations related to pregnancy. Her complaints of severe nausea and abdominal pain during her sixth month of pregnancy were ignored by the health centre, which failed to perform an urgent blood and urine test to ascertain whether the foetus had died. The tests were done two days later, which led to a deterioration of Ms. da Silva Pimentel Teixeira’s condition. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 24, in which it states that it is the duty of States parties to ensure women’s right to safe motherhood and emergency obstetric services, and to allocate to these services the maximum extent of available resources. 21 It also states that measures to eliminate discrimination against women are considered to be inappropriate in a health -care system which lacks services to prevent, detect and treat illnesses specific to women. 22 In the light of these observations, the Committee also rejects the argument of the State party that the communication did not contain a causal link between Ms. da Silva Pimentel Teixeira’s gender and the possible medical errors committed, but that the claims concerned a lack of access to medical care related to pregnancy. The Committee therefore is of the view that the death of Ms. da Silva Pimentel Teixeira must be regarded as maternal. 7.4 The Committee also notes the author’s allegation concerning the poor quality of the health services provided to her daughter, which not only included the failure to perform a blood and urine test, but also the fact that the curettage surgery was only carried out 14 hours after labour was induced in order to remove the afterbirth and placenta, which had not been fully expelled during the process of delivery and could have caused the haemorrhaging and ultimately death. The surgery was done in the health centre, which was not adequately equipped, and her transfer to the municipal hospital took eight hours, as the hospital refused to provide its only ambulance to transport her, and her family was not able to secure a private ambulance. It also notes that her transfer to the municipal hospital without her clinical history and information on her medical background was ineffective, as she was left largely unattended in a makeshift area in the hallway of the hospital for 21 hours until she died. The State party did not deny the inappropriateness of the service nor refute any of these facts. Instead it admitted that Ms. da Silva Pimentel Teixeira’s vulnerable condition required individualized medical treatment, which was not forthcoming owing to a potential failure in the medical assistance provided by a private health institution, caused by professional negligence, inadequate infrastructure and lack of professional preparedness. The Committee therefore __________________ 21 22 11-51699 Para. 27. Para. 11. 19