A 42-year-old woman has died days after having a procedure performed at a controversial Melbourne abortion clinic last week.
The woman, who remains unidentified, died at Box Hill hospital on Sunday after undergoing a procedure at the Marie Stopes International Maroondah clinic, formerly the Croydon Day Surgery in the city’s east, The Age reports.
A spokesman from the Coroners Court of Victoria said the "unexpected" death would be investigated but an official from the health department who visited the clinic said ''there was no indication from the visit that it was operating outside its requirements''.
The clinic, which also advises women on sterilisation and contraception, has a chequered past and has been the subject of investigation on four previous occasions.
Anaesthetist James Latham Peters is alleged to have infected over 50 women with Hepatitis C when he worked at the Croydon clinic in 2008 and 2009. Peters will face court again in May for the remainder of the committal hearing.
The surgery's owner, Dr Mark Schulberg, has also come to the attention of law enforcement. In 2009 he was found guilty of unprofessional conduct for allowing a late-term abortion to be performed on an intellectually disabled woman without gaining legal consent.
He remains under investigation by the Medical Board of Australia after a 40-year –old woman was admitted to hospital in August after undergoing a late-term abortion.
Marie Stopes International chief executive Maria Deveson Crabbe said her organisation would assist the investigation into the death of the Sunshine woman.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of a female patient, who attended our associate registered day procedure centre in Maroondah on Wednesday, December 14, passed away at Box Hill Hospital on Sunday, December 18," Ms Deveson Crabbe said.
"However, we can confirm that the death is being investigated by the Coroner who we are assisting however we can."
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