At one time, New Orleans had seven fully-operating abortion clinics, but the Louisiana city is down to just one with the expected closure of one of the abortion facilities.
Pastor Dale Sochia of King Jesus Ministries in Boutte emailed LifeNews over the weekend to confirm that the Midtown Medical abortion clinic is expected to be closing, following the death of abortion practitioner Kiat Varnishung.
Sochia wrote: “I received a phone call last week Pastor Bill Shanks who shared with me the most incredible news! He said, “Dale, the manager from the Uptown (abortion mill) just came outside and approached me and told me, ‘Better get your red marker out.'”
Four doctors had been doing abortions at the Uptown abortion clinic that opened shortly after hurricane Katrina. Since that time two of these doctors have quit and, last year, abortion practitioner Adrian Coleman died suddenly at the age of 37.
“The manager then went on to tell Pastor Bill that they will be closing down the clinic,” he said.
“This is no ordinary clinic – this clinic is the one located at 3500 St. Charles Avenue and used to be a church,” Sochia added. “I posted a few years back a prophetic word that God would turn this house of horror back into a house of holiness! Now, God has done His part by removing the last remaining abortionist.”
“In 1995, New Orleans had seven abortion mills in the surrounding area. Today, with the closing of this mill, only one mill remains,” he said.
The pastor hopes to turn the abortion clinic back into a church.
“I am in the process of putting together a meeting with some folks (along with some money backers) who are looking into purchasing the building and doing just what was prophesied… making it into a house of holiness again,” Sochia said.
Last year, the Louisiana health department, using a 2010 law that gives it more authority to close abortion centers that violate state health and safety standards, closed the Gentilly Medical Group for Women abortion facility in New Orleans.
The Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) issued a notice of license revocation to the “Gentilly Medical Group for Women”, an abortion facility near the corner of Gentilly Blvd and Elysian Fields Ave in New Orleans. According to Louisiana Right to Life, the order requires the facility to immediately cease operations.
The revocation followed the passage of Act 490 in the 2010 Louisiana legislative session giving DHH the power to immediately close an abortion facility under certain circumstances. Before the passage of the law, DHH revoked the license of the Gentilly abortion facility in January of 2010 due to various problems but the revocation order remained under appeal since that time.
DHH Secretary Alan Levine indicated that the Gentilly Medical Clinic for Women abortion center operated without a trained nurse on staff, without a site-specific Louisiana controlled dangerous substance license, and without a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration controlled substance registration. All three are required for an abortion center in Louisiana to be run with proper approval from the state health department.
“Louisiana law is very clear on the requirements to maintain a safe medical environment for women seeking abortion services,” said Levine, according to WWLT.
“We have a duty to ensure women have safe choices for the services they are legally entitled to,” he continued. “This clinic has been in clear violation of our state’s health standards and we cannot allow Louisiana citizens to get inadequate or unsafe care.”
Benjamin Clapper, the executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, applauded the decision in a statement to LifeNews.
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“In an era where abortion unfortunately remains legal due to the Supreme Court’s erroneous decisions, we must do all we can to protect the lives of women and unborn children from the travesty of abortion,” he said. “The implementation of Act 490 is one important way to ensure that abortion facilities are in compliance with the many pro-life laws passed by the Louisiana legislature.”
“We thank Secretary Greenstein and the DHH for their continued work to ensure that women are protected,” Clapper added. “We hope that this revocation will mean the end of the notorious Gentilly abortion facility. If a restraining order is sought by the Gentilly facility, we ask that no judge come between the responsibilities of our government and the health and safety of our citizens.”
