Pro-Life Groups Demand Closing of 'Alabama's Gosnell' Clinics After 'Fourth Victim'
Several pro-life groups are holding an emergency press conference today in Alabama over the actions of abortionist Bruce Norman, who saw another one of his patients rushed to the hospital on Wednesday.
"This would never be tolerated for physicians in any respectable area of medicine, and should not be tolerated from the abortion industry in our state," said Sue Turner of Alabama Physicians for Life in a press release on Thursday.
CEC For Life and a number of other anti-abortion organizations are calling for an end to Norman's practices, who works at Jackson Women's Health Organization (JWHO) – the last abortion clinic in Mississippi.
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The pro-life groups reminded readers that Wednesday's incident was not the first time a woman has been rushed to the hospital from Norman's clinics. In 2012, while operating at what used to be the New Woman All Women clinic in Alabama, three women were sent to the hospital in one day.
"The abortionist on duty [in Jackson] was Bruce Norman," Operation Rescue's Cheryl Sullenger told OneNewsNow. "He's the same abortionist who sent three women to the hospital at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, owned by the same lady who owns the Jackson Women's Health Organization in Jackson."
Mississippi has attempted to close JWHO and passed regulation last year requiring abortion doctors to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals. Diane Derzis, JWHO owner, filed a lawsuit in response, claiming that the new law specifically targets her abortion clinic. A U.S. District Judge later ruled that the regulations could not be enforced until the lawsuit was resolved.
Just three days prior, Derzis and Norman were again in court over their New Woman All Women clinic, being accused of continuing to operate in the facility despite orders. Norman has made the case that he is running a "private practice" and therefore should not be required to be licensed by the Alabama Department of Public Health. A decision on the case is expected to be made on Friday by Judge Joseph Boohaker.
"If Judge Boohaker allows Bruce Norman to continue practicing, the lives of Alabama women could be put in severe jeopardy," said Rev. Terry Gensemer, director of CEC For Life. "In 2012, Norman landed three Alabama women in the hospital in just one day. Now a woman in Mississippi has been harmed. It's only a matter of time before a woman loses her life."
As for the incident on Wednesday, Norman's lawyer Scott Morro said that the woman is in stable condition and has been discharged from the hospital.
"It was handled appropriately according to the medical need," Morro said, according to Al.com. "It [abortion] is a medical procedure and sometimes it is necessary to make that precaution."
Troy Newman of Operation Rescue insisted that "the only place Bruce Norman should be operating is prison" and added that "Alabama is well on its way to having its own Gosnell," referring to the infamous Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell who in May was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of a patient and three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four babies at the clinic he ran for 40 years. Gosnell was spared the death penalty but is now serving three life sentences.
