Inquest 'taking its toll' on Savita husband
Savita Halappanavar's husband Praveen will not attend the inquest into her death today.
His solicitor Gerard O'Donnell said that the inquest, which will today hear the details of two autopsy reports, would prove too upsetting for Praveen.
“We will be dealing with the pathology report so it will be detailing post mortem results into the death of his late wife," he said.
"Well, it would be very, very difficult for him, very tough.
"Certainly yesterday you were looking at him, it was taking its toll on him and he left.
"He will be here tomorrow for certain, and hopefully he'll be able to give some reaction then."
The 31-year-old dentist was 17 weeks pregnant when admitted to University Hospital Galway on October 21 last year and died a week later from septicaemia and a rare strain of E.coli, four days after she lost her baby.
Peter Kelehan, consultant pathologist, and Professor Grace Callagy and Sebastian Lucas, an expert on sepsis from St Thomas’ Hospital London, will give evidence today, the penultimate day of hearings at the inquest.
Yesterday, leading obstetrician Peter Boylan claimed the 31-year-old dentist would probably still be alive if the law in Ireland allowed an abortion as she miscarried before there was a real risk to her life.
He maintained that while there were a number of deficiencies in her care, none on their own were likely to have resulted in Ms Halappanavar’s death.
The jury in Galway coroner’s court is expected to return a verdict tomorrow afternoon.
