Hospital Review Confirms Lack of Abortion Did Not Kill Savita Halappanavar

International   |   Cora Sherlock   |   Sep 11, 2014   |   1:27PM   |   Dublin, Ireland

The Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland today confirmed that they have taken disciplinary action against nine members of staff who treated Savita Halappanavar before her death at Galway University Hospital. 

The action follows the setting-up of a panel, established by the local hospital group to determine what recommendations should be made in the light of Savita’s tragic death.  Some of the details have been kept private by a hospital spokesman, who said that there was a need to protect the confidentiality of the staff members involved, and providing too much information in terms of the disciplinary measures could lead to their being identified.

savitahalappanavarHowever, the measures undertaken are thought to include written warnings, with a requirement to undertake “pre-procedural” informal counselling with training and mentoring in some cases.  The aim of such counselling is to identify areas of care that need improvement and to determine how such improvement can come about.

Even though we have not been furnished with exact specifics, one fact is very clear today – once again, there is no suggestion that an abortion would have saved Savita’s life.  The focus of the HSE disciplinary measure was on the care given by the staff in Galway, not on the lack of abortion legislation in Ireland.

Of course, this is in line with the three independent reports carried out following Savita’s death.  The official inquest, the HSE’s own Report, and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Report were all referred to Ireland’s Minister for Health.  None found that this tragic case was about the non-availability of abortion in Ireland. Instead, mismanagement surrounding Savita’s care was determined as the main cause of her tragic death.

Where does this leave us today?

In a shocking quandary, that’s where.  It is now more clear than ever before that Savita’s tragedy was misused, massively and continuously, by abortion campaigners in Ireland who used it as a stepping stone to get abortion legislation over the line.  They were aided and abetted by the media, who were more interested in seeing the legislation passed by the Government than in providing accurate reports to the Irish public.  When the official reports were released, major media outlets should have made it clear that this was not a case about abortion, but instead concerned the very serious issue of medical mismanagement.

Instead, there was no effort to set the story straight.  Those who pushed the distorted version hardest from the outset have never bothered to present the truth.  Tragically, the Irish Government went hand-in-hand with this blatant deception of the Irish people and we now have a law in place which completely contradicts international best medical care for women, and allows abortion throughout the full nine months in pregnancy.