Quinn Says Legislation Is Needed On Abortion Issue

Legislation will be needed to deal with Ireland's position on abortion, Ruairi Quinn, the minister for education, has indicated.

He said anyone looking at the 1861 laws on abortion would consider legislation the most appropriate way forward.

Speaking at Dublin Castle on Friday morning, Minister Quinn said that he would be bringing his views to Cabinet next week.

He refused to say whether he believed there should be a public inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar.

Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive has annonunced it is to proceed with what it is now calling a clinical review into the death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway.

The executive also asked the Health Information and Quality Authority to conduct a statutory inquiry into the death before the HSE review concludes.

The HIQA board met today and will continue its deliberations into the HSE request tomorrow.

Ms Halappanavar’s husband, Praveen, insists that a full, sworn public inquiry is the only acceptable means of establishing the truth of what happened.

He has met the Indian Ambassador, Debashish Chakravarti, to ask him to call on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to set up a public inquiry.

Mr Halappanavar’s solicitor, Gerard O’Donnell, has said the HSE can choose to call the internal inquiry a clinical review, but said in that case his client would not be required for such an investigation.

(H)