Thursday, August 15, 2013

Victory! Court Issues Permanent Injunction Against Derzis’ Illegal Birmingham Alabama Abortion Business


Operation Rescue reported on August 8th that Judge Joseph L. Boohaker issued a permanent injunction today barring abortionist Bruce Norman from operating an abortion clinic at the location of the former New Woman All Women abortion facility in Birmingham, Alabama. Judge Hoohaker also enjoined clinic owner Diane Derzis from referring abortion patients to the Birmingham office. The injunction should close the illegal abortion business permanently.

The decision was the result of a law suit filed by the Alabama Department of Public Health alleging that Derzis and Norman were operating an illegal abortion clinic without proper licensing on the site of an abortion clinic that had been closed due to the hospitalization of 3 abortion patients in one day and the subsequent discovery of 76-pages of health code deficiencies that presented a danger to the public.

Today’s ruling represents a victory for pro-life groups, including Life Legal Defense, which filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of CEC for Life and Operation Rescue in support of the ADPH suit. The groups worked together to expose abortion abuses at the clinic and filed complaints that resulted in the original closure of New Woman All Women last year.

“We are excited with the ruling and pleased with the fact that Derzis and Norman were finally caught red-handed operating outside the law. This will be the second time in less than a year that we have worked along-side local pro-life activists to close this dangerous abortion operation,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “We are thankful that women will now be protected by the permanent injunction on Derzis and Norman. We hope this will be the end of their schemes to evade the laws.”

Judge Boohaker noted in his 22-page ruling that he considered that Norman’s testimony about the number of abortions done at the Birmingham office was contradictory and was actually more than the 30 abortions per month limit for unlicensed facilities. The judge also took issue with Derzis’ abortion business referring abortion clients to Norman at the Birmingham office, noting that the referrals held the office out to be an abortion clinic.

This decision comes one day after Norman was involved in an abortion emergency at Derzis’ Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s last remaining abortion clinic.

“Norman essentially shipped his injured patient off to the ER where someone else was forced to clean up his mess,” said Newman. “We pray that the judge that is blocking Mississippi’s hospital privilege requirement will follow Alabama’s lead and protect the public from Derzis and Norman’s shoddy and dangerous abortion practices.”