Ireland abortion row: Internal report on Savita Halappanavar’s death nears publication

The much-awaited internal report into the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in Ireland is set to be published soon with her husband agreeing to allow his lawyer to meet the head of a health

By: Nirmalya Dutta | | Updated: January 7, 2014 10:57 am

The much-awaited internal report into the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in Ireland is set to be published soon with her husband agreeing to allow his lawyer to meet the head of a health service investigation. Praveen Halappanavar had postponed the meeting with Prof Sabaratnam Arulkmaran until after the inquest into Savita’s death, which concluded last month that she died of medical misadventure. Also Read - Diagnostic tests that can help you get pregnant after an abortion

His lawyer, Gerard O’Donnell and his friend, CVR Prasad, a hospital consultant, will meet Prof Arulkumaran in Galway city on Wednesday. Praveen decided not to attend the meeting himself. According to the ‘Irish Independent’, they are expected to make detailed submissions, based on evidence that emerged over the course of the eight-day inquest in Galway last month. Savita, 31, died at Galway University Hospital on October 28 last year after she miscarried her baby at 17 weeks. Also Read - After effects of abortion you did not know about

The inquest was told of a litany of systems and communications failures and how the medical team missed the early signs of blood poisoning that eventually killed her. The inquest also heard how her two requests for a termination were refused because her life was not at risk, in accordance with stringent anti-abortion laws in Ireland. The government has since agreed a draft bill to clarify the country’s complex abortion laws. Also Read - Planning a baby after an abortion? This is all you need to know

Prof Arulkumaran, a London-based obstetrician, was commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to chair a clinical review of Savita’s death. Praveen had initially refused to co-operate, instead calling for an independent public inquiry. He was further upset when a draft of Prof Arulkumaran’s findings was leaked to the media. The draft report found there was an over-emphasis on the welfare of the foetus and an under-emphasis on Savita’s deteriorating health.

One of the issues at the meeting will focus on whether any issues have emerged between evidence given at the inquest into Savita’s death and the HSE investigation.

Savita was 17-weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital on October 21 last year. She delivered a dead baby girl three days later and was immediately rushed to the ICU after the delivery. Savita’s father on the other hand had vowed to sue the Irish hospital where his daughter died saying he wasn’t happy with the inquest’s outcome.‘I believe we will never get justice from the Irish government so we are definitely going to take legal action against the hospital,’ Andanappa Yalagi told the Irish Daily Star from his home in Belgaum, Karnataka. ‘No one has yet told us the real reason for my daughter’s death. I am not satisfied by the inquest because the truth about what led to my daughter’s death still has not come out. What I think is that the government and the doctors need to take responsibility for what happened to Savita but so far no one is doing that. No one from the hospital or the government not the doctors, not the politicians have spoken of the negligence that killed my daughter,’ he added.

The 31-year-old Indian dentist was 17 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to University Hospital Galway in October 2012 suffering a miscarriage. She died on Oct 28 of a heart attack caused by septicaemia – an infection in the blood, four days after she delivered a dead foetus.

Savita’s death has set off a massive row in Ireland whose Catholic laws ban abortion after a certain period of time unless the mother’s life is at risk but the inquest showed that there was a lot of confusion on what’s legal and what’s not and one midwife even told Savita that ‘this is a Catholic country‘ though she claimed to do so only to explain the laws of the land. Abortion is a raging debate in many countries with strong Catholic tendencies including the United States of America.

Published : May 13, 2013 8:47 am | Updated:January 7, 2014 10:57 am

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