Calls for public inquiry into Savita Halappanavar's death

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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1115/breaking2.html

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Savita Halappanavar and her husband Praveen photographed at home in Galway. Ms Halappanavar, died a week after being admitted to University Hospital Galway last month when she was 17 weeks pregnant.


The death of Savita Halappanavar must be the subject of an independent public inquiry, according to a Galway-based surgeon who is a close friend of the 31-year-old woman and her husband Praveen.

Dr CVR Prasad, an orthopaedic surgeon at Merlin Park Hospital in Galway, said such an inquiry must be taken out of the hands of the Health Service Executive or University Hospital Galway.

The Government is not ruling out an independent inquiry into the tragic death of Ms Halappanavar, who presented on October 21st with back pain at Galway University Hospital where she was found to be miscarrying at 17 weeks. She died of septicaemia on October 28th.

Her husband, an engineer at Boston Scientific in Galway, had described how she asked several times over a three-day period that the pregnancy be terminated, given that she was in pain and was miscarrying. He said the request was refused by medical staff who said they could not do anything because there was still a foetal heartbeat. He said they were told that this was the law and that “this is a Catholic country”.