Abortion debate persists in Ireland

The medical records of an India-born dentist who died in Ireland during a miscarriage do not show her requests for an abortion, a lawyer for her husband says. Dr. Savita Halappanavar asked doctors at a hospital in Galway to terminate her pregnancy after they told her the fetus was not viable, her husband says. He said they were told that could only be done when the fetus had no heartbeat. Gerard O'Donnell, who is representing Praveen Halappanavar, said the Indian ambassador will ask for an independent investigation, The New York Times reported Friday. Halappanavar has said he will not deal with the Irish Health Service Executive. "I have seen the way my wife was treated in the hospital, so I have no confidence that the HSE will do justice," he told RTE, the Irish national TV channel, Wednesday. "Basically, I don't have any confidence in the HSE." Savita Halappanavar's death has focused attention in Ireland and elsewhere on the country's abortion laws. The Irish Supreme Court ruled in 1992 abortions can be performed if there is a "real and substantial risk" to the mother's life, but the parliament has never enacted laws that would protect doctors who perform such procedures. Robert Dowds, a Labor member of parliament, said Wednesday during a debate Ireland's proximity to Britain has allowed the country to evade the issue. "The reality is that if Britain wasn't on our doorstep, we would have had to introduce abortion legislation years ago to avoid women dying in back-street abortions," he said. A resolution asking the government to enforce the Irish Supreme Court decision failed 88-53.