Police in Britain are investigating the circumstances of a case in which an Irish-based woman died in a taxi hours after an abortion in a Marie Stopes clinic in London last year.

The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) have said that the case “raises major questions about the safety of abortion for women in addition to the obvious disregard for unborn human life that abortion involves”.

The 32-year-old, who was a foreign national living in Ireland, underwent an abortion at a clinic in west London in January 2012. She died in a taxi hours after the procedure.

Marie Stopes International declined to comment because of client confidentiality.  

The Metropolitan Police said a file on the woman’s death had been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in April this year. An inquest is yet to be held.

The Met continue to investigate the sudden death, a spokesman said. The woman’s husband told The Irish Times that his wife had sought an abortion at a maternity hospital in Dublin but had been told that it was not legally possible as her condition was not life threatening.

It is understood the woman was about 20 weeks pregnant when she travelled to Britain for an abortion.

PLC spokesperson Cora Sherlock said that the tragic death was “not the first incident of a life-endangering situation involving an Irish woman at a Marie Stopes clinic”.

Ms Sherlock said: “In December 2011, Dr Phanuel Dartey was struck off the General Medical Register in Britain for almost killing an Irish woman after performing a botched abortion at the Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing, London.

“In this latest story, the woman who died had no life-threatening condition before the abortion but developed grave complications within hours of the procedure. It raises very serious questions about the safety of abortion in certain clinics.

“While official figures suggest that abortion in Britain is relatively safe for women, there have been several reports and incidents recently that challenge this claim.”