Doctor wished to include Savita in medical trial

The husband of Savita Halappanavar was approached by a doctor as his wife lay critically ill in hospital to get permission to include her in a medical trial being conducted in Britain.

Praveen Halappanavar said he was disappointed and uncomfortable with what he was being asked, just two days before his wife died. When he questioned the doctor, the medic said he did not know if the trial was approved by the Irish Medicines Board.

Mrs Halappanavar, 31, was 17 weeks pregnant when she miscarried at Galway University Hospital. She died unexpectedly from septic shock and an E.coli infection on Oct 28 last year — six days after being admitted.