Birmingham Abortion Clinic Operating Illegally in Defiance of State Ordered Closure

Birmingham, AL — A coalition of groups including Operation Rescue, CEC for Life, Life Legal Defense Foundation, Priests for Life, and others, has documented that New Women All Women and abortionist Bruce Elliot Norman are advertizing for and conducting abortions in violation of Alabama law that requires any facility advertizing as an abortion clinic to be licensed by the state. In addition, the abortion clinic is operating in violation of a closure order issued in April, 2012, by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) due to massive health and safety violations. [VIDEO]
On Tuesday, March 19, at 11 AM, LLDF, CEC For Life, and other national organizations will hold an emergency press conference in front of the New Woman All Women facility (corner of 10th Ave and 17th St S.) regarding LLDF’s findings against NWAW and the Department of Public Health’s total lack of action. National pro-life groups will call for an immediate shut down of NWAW, along with a full investigation.
“This abortion clinic appears to be operating illegally with the full knowledge of the ADPH,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “It is intolerable that they would allow this criminal abortion business to endanger women by operating in brazen defiance of the law.”
Rev. Terry Gensemer says, “CEC For Life, Life Legal Defense Foundation, Operation Rescue, Priests for
Life, and the community of Birmingham would like to know exactly how the Department of Public Health justifies not only allowing a facility without any license to continue illegally advertising as an abortion provider, but also explain how that facility is now blatantly offering abortions to patients. If NWAW is no longer a licensed abortion provider, then what is abortionist Bruce Norman doing here with a full parking lot on a Saturday morning? And why isn’t ADPH doing anything to stop it? These are questions we need answered, and we need them answered now.”
Allison Aranda, an attorney with Life Legal Defense Foundation who is representing the pro-life groups, has formally notified the ADPH that the abortion clinic has resumed abortions without a license and provided evidence in support of that claim. So far the ADPH has ignored the information.
In a Consent Order last year, owner Diane Derzis and her associate Norman were ordered not to have any involvement in the Birmingham clinic. Two attempts by a close associate of Derzis’ to relicense the clinic failed. The most recent application for licensure was denied just last month. After that, Derzis reopened her abortion clinic in violation of the ADPH order.
On January 21, 2012, pro-life activists photographed two women being carried out of the clinic’s back door to ambulances waiting in a trash-strewn alley, and obtained the 911 recordings that indicated both women had been overdosed by clinic staff. The pro-life groups filed a complaint with the ADPH which conducted an inspection and discovered that a third woman was also hospitalized on that same day suffering from abortion complications and 76-pages of other violations.
“We demand that the ADPH to immediately close New Woman All Women and take whatever legal action is necessary to ensure that the owner Diane Derzis is never allowed to operate another abortion clinic again, even if that means bringing criminal charges and locking her in jail,” said Newman.
We urge the public to contact the Alabama Department of Public Health and demand they take immediate action to halt New Woman All Women’s illegal abortion operations.
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