The prosecution offered no evidence in court against abortionist Dr Adedeji

An abortionist who worked at a Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing has been cleared of killing a woman who bled to death after undergoing an abortion when 22 weeks pregnant.

Dr Adedayo Adedeji, 63, was formally acquitted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Aisha Chithira, 32, after the prosecution refused to offer evidence in court.

No explanation given

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill QC told the Old Bailey the decision to drop the manslaughter charge was taken following a review of the case.

No detailed reasons for the decision were given in court.

Ms Chithira was 22 weeks pregnant when she underwent the operation at the Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing, west London, on 21 June 2012.

"Extensive internal bleeding"

She collapsed several hours later while travelling in a taxi in Slough, Berkshire, and died of 'extensive internal bleeding'.

Two nurses who worked at the clinic, Gemma Pullen, 32, and Margaret Miller, 55, have also been cleared of the charge of manslaughter. However, they both still face a health and safety charge and are due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on June 8 this year.

The three defendants were not in court when the decision was announced. Both Pullen and Miller remain on bail.

Suspicions of bias

Their barristers urged the prosecution to reconsider their decision to pursue the allegation.

The prosecution’s decision to effectively torpedo the trial will come as a puzzle to many observers, and add to fears among pro-life campaigners that the CPS has a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to monitoring the abortion industry.

In December, SPUC reported how the CPS had blocked a private prosecution by Aisling Hubert, a 22-year-old pro-life campaigner, against two abortionists caught red-handed offering sex-selective abortions.

"Very serious" offence

Last June, CPS prosecutor Colin Gibbs had told magistrates that Dr Adedeji stood accused of a "very serious" offence.

"The defendant Adedeji is a doctor and the defendants Pullen and Miller are nurses. They were practising in a private clinic, the Marie Stopes Clinic, which is a chain of clinics that deal with terminations and abortions.

"The victim in this case was someone who lived in Ireland at the time. She took a decision to have a termination at 22 weeks.

"Not properly dealt with"

"She came to the clinic in the Ealing area on January 21, 2012, and things were fairly normal until the procedure took place at 4.30pm that day.

"It became apparent she was quite unwell as a result of the procedure. She actually suffered an internal tear and that was causing internal bleeding and blood loss.

"All her symptoms, which included falling to the floor, hyperventilating and many other things, were not properly dealt with."

"Good character"

Mr Kevin McCartney, defending Adedeji, said at the time that the father-of-four was a "professional" who had been working as a doctor since 1991.

The court also heard that Pullen was a "professional of good character".

And Katy Thorne, defending Miller, said she lived with her son and "is a nurse of unblemished character".