As many of you know, CEC For Life, along with many other dedicated pro-lifers in the city of Birmingham and even several other national pro-life organizations, such as Operation Rescue, Christian Defense Coalition, Bound for Life and the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, has focused its efforts largely on closing the New Woman All Woman abortion clinic located in Birmingham, AL.
In the last year and a half, we have increasingly devoted more time and prayer to this matter, petitioning God to expose the evil behind the walls of this clinic and open the way for it to be shut down.
In October 2010, during the Birmingham Letter Project with Survivors, we challenged New Woman’s improper use of a federal injunction that had kept sidewalk counselors from crossing the street to counsel girls entering the clinic for more than 15 years.
After a week of vigilant prayer and persistence, the power of God prevailed both on the sidewalk and in the courtroom, and the sidewalk in front of New Woman was finally open for counseling, prayer vigils, and demonstrations — just as it should have been all along.
Every morning spent on that sidewalk in the year that followed was a blessing. Devoted pro-lifers who had been praying in front of this clinic for many, many years were finally able to cross the street to speak with women and put life-saving literature in their hands. Babies were saved when that sidewalk was opened, and we thank God for such a tremendous blessing.
Then in January 2012, something incredible happened. Incredible, and incredibly tragic. On the morning of January 21, 2012, two women were taken from the clinic, placed in ambulances and rushed to the nearby hospital. After obtaining the 911 calls, we discovered that they had been overdosed on Vasopressin. In fact, the two women were given ten times the normal amount of the drug.
Once again, CEC For Life thanks God for the faithful people who have come to pray in front of this clinic. Despite the fact that it had been raining and lightening the morning of Jan. 21, a group of dedicated pro-lifers had still come to pray and were able to take photos and video of the horrific scene as the two women were hand-carried down dilapidated steps in a trash-strewn alley.
With the photos, video, and 911 calls, the Birmingham pro-life community was able to file a complaint against Diane Derzis and her careless clinic. That complaint led to an investigation throughout the next two months which, in March 2012, rendered a 76-page report regarding the overwhelming unlawful practices going on within this clinic.
On April 5, 2012, following the public release of this report, CEC For Life and Operation Rescue made a public plea for the state of Alabama to close this clinic. Not even twenty-four hours later, on Good Friday, the pro-life community of Birmingham received an email from the Alabama Department of Public Health. It reads:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Professional staff of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards, Alabama Department of Public Health, have performed a comprehensive investigation of New Woman All Women Health Care in Birmingham in response to a complaint received in January 2012.
This investigation revealed significant failures in maintaining compliance with the Rules of the Alabama State Board of Health for the safe and effective provision of care.
Based on these findings, a license revocation hearing had been scheduled for April 19. However, a settlement has been reached that requires the current operator to relinquish the license on or before May 18, 2012.
At this moment, CEC For Life is waiting to hear back from several sources to confirm what can only be credited to the mercy, power, and wonder of the Lord: the closing of the New Woman All Women child-killing center.
Please join us in prayer and thanksgiving, as we continue to trust the Lord and believe His promises. He is ever faithful to hear the cry of the innocent preborn.