Eleven medical experts have rejected the suggestion made by Dr Peter Boylan that the death of Savita Halappanavar was probably caused by current Irish law.

In a letter in yesterday’s papers, the consultants, including Professors John Bonnar, Eamon O’Dwyer and Stephen Cusack, said that Dr Boylan’s view was a personal one, “not an expert one”.

They said that it was “impossible for Dr Boylan, or for any doctor, to predict with certainty the clinical course and outcome in the case of Savita Halappanavar”.

However they said that where conditions such as those facing Mrs Halappanvar did arise, “Irish obstetricians understand they can intervene with early delivery of the baby if necessary”.  

“Unfortunately, the inquest shows that in Galway University Hospital the diagnosis of chorioamnionitis was delayed and relevant information was not noted and acted upon,” they said.

They added that the facts as produced at the inquest showed that the case had been “primarily about the management of sepsis”.  

“Dr Boylan’s opinion on the effect of Irish law did not appear to be shared by the coroner, or the jury, of the inquest,” they said.

The consultants said that obstetric sepsis, the proximate cause of Ms Halappanavar’s death was on the increase and was now the leading cause of maternal death reported in the UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths .  

They said: “Additionally there are many well-documented fatalities from sepsis in women following termination of pregnancy. To concentrate on the legal position regarding abortion in the light of such a case as that in Galway does not assist our services to pregnant women.”

They said that there was clear evidence that maternal mortality in developed countries is rising, and that a recent British report had said that “many maternal deaths are related to failure to observe simple clinical signs such as fever, headache and changes in pulse rate and blood pressure”.  

“Many of the failings highlighted in Galway have been described before in these and other reports,” they said.

They pointed to Ireland’s excellent maternal health record in terms of our low rate of maternal death (including Galway hospital) and said that reducing the findings into Ms Halappanvar’s death to “a polemical argument about abortion” might lead “to more – not fewer – deaths in the future”.

In response, Dr Boylan has described the criticism as a “direct attack on my professional opinion”.