Ms Y wants High Court to halt HSE inquiry into her case

The woman at the centre of an abortion controversy has brought High Court proceedings aimed at stopping a Health Service Executive inquiry into the care provided to her by various State agencies.

The woman, who for legal reasons can only be referred to as Ms Y, is an asylum seeker who suffers from a medical condition and is described as being “extremely vulnerable”.

She arrived in Ireland earlier this year and shortly afterwards discovered she was pregnant as a result of being raped in her home country. She sought an abortion on the grounds of feeling suicidal but, despite seeing a number of agencies, the pregnancy was well advanced by the time her case was assessed by a three-doctor panel.

She had a Caesarean section against her initial wishes and the child is now in State care.

A HSE inquiry was set up to examine the response of the State and other agencies and determine why her case under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was delayed.

Ms Y’s lawyers said the manner in which the HSE inquiry has been conducted has breached her rights to fair procedures and constitutional justice. She has been unable to participate in the inquiry due to ill health, the court was told.

In proceedings against the HSE, Ms Y, represented by Richard Kean SC, wants an order halting the inquiry, which commenced last August.

She also seeks an order quashing a draft report concerning her case which counsel said was “leaked to media” last September.

The draft report was put together without his client having being interviewed as, due to her vulnerable condition she was unable to be interviewed, counsel said. Ms Y should have been interviewed to ascertain her version of events beofre any report was compiled, it is argued.

The leaking of the draft report, the contents of which were featured in both print and broadcast media, “compounded her illness,” and breached Ms Y’s rights, including to privacy.

Counsel said Ms Y's solicitor, Caoimhe Haughey, had asked the HSE for the source of the leak as the contents of the draft report were only known to a small number of people.

Ms Y was also unhappy the four person inquiry team appointed by the HSE to conduct the inquiry was composed of individuals who were or had been in the past employees of the HSE. This gave rise to an apprehension of “bias”, counsel said.

Ms Y and her legal representatives are unhappy the inquiry team did not include either a consultant obstetrician and a consultant psychiatrist, it was submitted.

Ms Haughey had only been provided with extracts from reports and interviews on which the HSE is to base its findings and is concerned her side were not getting the full picture, the court heard.

Permission to bring the case was granted, on an ex parte basis, by Mr Justice Seamus Noonan. He granted a temporary stay on the inquiry proceeding pending the matter returning to court next month.