Bristol Women’s Health is located in Virginia. The owner has been in legal trouble on two different occasions. One, she pressured a minor teenager into aborting her unborn baby without the teen’s parental consent. Two, she lied to her landlord. Despite these two separate lawsuits, Bristol Women’s Health owner Diane Derzis says that she won’t leave town.
The abortion provider will stand up to these charges and plans to proceed with abortions even if the landlord cancels her lease. “You know if [the lawsuit] were to go the other way, I’d just find another building. … But I don’t intend to lose,” she told to Cardinal News.
The suit, which was filed in December, asks that the clinic’s lease agreement be terminated and alleges that the building’s owners were misled about the services that would be provided.
The abortion business recently moved from Tennessee, which protects unborn babies by banning elective abortions, to the Virginia border town of Bristol.
The parents of the teenager who was pressured into abortion against her will are suing Derzis. They are accusing Derzis of violating a Virginia law that requires informing parents if a minor is pursuing abortion.
The Family Foundation in Virginia has been encouraging Bristol and other communities to act to protect unborn babies.
“Southwest Virginia has become a target for ‘tourism abortion’ because our neighboring states are ahead of our commonwealth in doing the good work of protecting human life within their states,” Victoria Cobb, president of the organization, said in a statement in October.
Cardinal News reported that Derzis plans to run abortion facilities in Columbus, Georgia; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Richmond, Virginia. She said she plans to open another new clinic soon in Chicago.
