Abortionist Who Said
“God does way more abortions than I do”
now working in Tuscaloosa
| July 31, 2020 Originally written by CEC for Life edited by Prolife Tuscaloosa Just a few months ago, West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, AL made news when long-time owner Gloria Gray confirmed that she sold the clinic to Amanda Reyes, Executive Director of the Yellowhammer Fund. The Yellowhammer Fund is a non-profit that funds abortions in the state of Alabama. The organization made national news last year when they went from having just a few thousand dollars in the bank to receiving over $2 million dollars in donations. This was just after Alabama passed the Human Life Protection Act. According to an article from AL.com, a few months later, Yellowhammer Fund’s own staff members expressed public concern over how the new funds were being spent, including the treasurer who later resigned her position over the concerns. Gloria Gray was also quoted in the article, revealing that Reyes had not reimbursed clinic owners for abortions as promised, and would not agree to a meeting with the three clinic owners in the state. In light of that, Gray suddenly agreeing to sell the clinic to Reyes just a year later seems unexpected. Now Reyes is also replacing long-time abortionist Louis Payne, who retired at the end of July 2020. His replacement looks to be Leah N. Torres, an aggressively outspoken abortionist who was issued a temporary medical license in Alabama on July 23, 2020. |
| Torres has over 26,000 followers on Twitter. In 2018, a tweet she posted made national news when the abortionist seemed to imply that she cut babies’ vocal chords during abortions, which would be both brutal and illegal. She later deleted the tweet (pictured below) and tried to clarify her comments, claiming she was referring to the umbilical cord. Torres also filed a civil suit against the Daily Caller — the first to publish the story — claiming that the news story caused her to lose her job. |
At the time, Torres was working for Planned Parenthood Utah. David Daleiden, founder of the group that uncovered Planned Parenthood selling baby body parts, pointed out in response to the appalling tweet that his group didn’t investigate PP Utah because “their abortion doctors were the only ones who actually scared me.”
In December 2019, Live Action released a story about abortion workers coaching women to tell family members they had a miscarriage instead of a medical abortion. The article featured an interview with Torres during which she explains how she instructs women to cover up an abortion: “That’s why I can say, here, you’re gonna take this pill, go to the bathroom, have a bath. When you’re in there, place these pills in your vagina and then you’re gonna have a miscarriage and that’s horrible and tragic, but at least your family will understand.”
Earlier that year, Torres also made news a second time for tweeting “God performs way more abortions than I do.” This is the abortionist who has recently obtained a license to abort babies in our state. As can be expected, her medical license in Utah expired in January 2020 and has not been renewed. Torres also still has a medical license in New Mexico, but it looks as though she aims to make Alabama her new place of steady employment. She was seen at the clinic this week and even introduced herself to sidewalk counselors, bringing them donuts and coffee. Time will tell how interested Torres truly is in dialoguing with pro-lifers on the sidewalk. With such big changes happening, now is the time for Tuscaloosa citizens, especially, to be vigilant, unified and prayerful.
Woman’s Death Draws Attention to Dangerous Tuscaloosa Abortion Business and the State’s Reluctance to Enforce Licensing Laws
August 11, 2020
Original story by Operation Rescue
edited by Prolife Tuscaloosa
When a woman, was helped out of the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) abortion facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on May 7, 2020, pro-life activists on the scene suspected something had gone very wrong with an abortion.
Later, clinic workers informed a local pro-life activist that the unidentified woman had in fact died.
That launched efforts by a coalition of pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, CEC for Life, Life Legal Defense Foundation, and other Alabama pro-life groups to learn more about this incident.
The pro-life groups discovered that the clinic never called 911 for help, even though witnesses said the woman looked unwell, struggled to walk, and needed the support of another person to make it the few feet from the facility to the parking lot and into a private vehicle.
Response to complaints
Complaints were filed with the Alabama Department of Public Health, which oversees abortion facilities in Alabama, and the Board of Medical Examiners, which has jurisdiction over physicians.
The Alabama Department of Public Health responded that it will not investigate this woman’s death, claiming it is outside their jurisdiction since someone other than an ambulance crew drove her to the hospital where she died later that same day.
The abortionist at the time was Louis Payne, 81, who conveniently retired at the end of July (2020). A medical board investigation is underway into his actions that may have contributed to the woman’s death, but because of Payne’s retirement, its outcome will have no effect on the abortion facility or its staff.
Payne was replaced just days ago by Utah abortionist Leah Torres, who was recently fired from a previous job after posting controversial remarks while trolling pro-life activists on Twitter.
Sale of WAWC
The WAWC made headlines in May 2020, when the Yellowhammer Fund purchased it from long-time owner Gloria Gray.
The Yellowhammer Fund was a small organization founded in 2016, to provide financial assistance to women seeking abortions in Alabama. All that changed when the state passed the Alabama Human Life Protection Act last year, which would have essentially ended the vast majority of abortions had it not been blocked by a court order. Suddenly, those who favored abortions, including several celebrities, started donating to the Yellowhammer Fund, and through the use of social media, encouraged others to do so.
According to one news report, the fund went from having less than $5,000 in the bank to having over $2 million. Soon, Amanda Reyes, a LGBTQ activist and former abortion clinic escort who served as the fund’s founder and director, came under fire from Alabama abortion businesses and supporters who questioned the way the money was being spent.
Reyes, who had no experience running an abortion facility, took over administration of the WAWC – reportedly on the same day in May when one of their first patients died.
Licensing regulations not followed
Now enter the Alabama Department of Health.
It has allowed the WAWC to continue operating under the old facility license issued during Gray’s ownership, in violation of Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 420-5-1, which requires the issuance of a new license upon change of ownership.
The clinic was not inspected since Reyes took control. It was last inspected in January 2019 – 19 months ago. The lack of an inspection and the ADPH’s reluctance to follow their own licensing laws has left pro-life activists disappointed and angry at the ADPH’s reluctance to follow their own rules.
Fr. Terry Gensemer, director of CEC For Life, comments, “ADPH’s refusal to investigate this clinic is unconscionable. To our knowledge, this clinic has not been inspected in over a year; it has also recently changed ownership, hired a doctor with a questionable reputation, and a patient seen leaving their clinic died shortly after. According to its own regulations, and just plain decency and respect for a woman’s death, an inspection is the very least ADPH could do.”
Autopsy Report anticipated
The woman that died underwent an autopsy. The autopsy report has been requested and is expected soon. That should answer more questions about the woman’s death just hours after leaving the WAWC on May 7.
Medical License SUSPENDED for Tuscaloosa Abortionist
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
by CEC for Life
edited by ProlifeTuuscaloosa
We have just confirmed that the Alabama medical license for Dr. Leah Torres, the aggressive activist and abortionist recently named Medical Director at West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, has been immediately suspended.
The Order from the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners states that the license, which was only temporary to begin with, was suspended based on fraudulent information provided by Torres on her application. It also states:
“…you have committed unprofessional conduct as defined in the rules promulgated by the Medical Licensure Commission; specifically, you have made public statements related to the practice of medicine which violate the high standards of honesty, diligence, prudence, and ethical integrity demanded from physicians licensed to practice in Alabama…”
This is likely in reference to Torres’ recent history of vulgar and alarming online statements, which our current coalition of pro-life organizations working to hold the Tuscaloosa abortion clinic accountable have made known to the public as well as to the Board of Medical Examiners.
According to the Order, Torres has until September 21st to appeal the decision and a mandatory hearing scheduled for December 2020.
Abortionist’s license SUSPENDED
September 12, 2020
By: Life Legal
edited by ProlifeTuscaloosa
The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners determined that Torres “may constitute an immediate danger to her patients and/or the public.” The BME found that Torres made numerous fraudulent statements in her application for a provisional license to practice medicine. Torres lied about having been sued for malpractice, in addition to lying about whether she has lost staff hospital privileges in the past.
Torres is the medical director of Western Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC), which has come under fire following the death of a woman who died a few hours after undergoing an abortion at the clinic on May 7. The previous medical director, Louis Payne, resigned just two months after the woman’s death and the abortion mill was recently sold to the Yellowhammer Fund, a non-profit entity spearheaded by radical abortion activist Amanda Reyes.
We recently learned a criminal investigation into the woman’s death is underway.
Life Legal filed a complaint yesterday with the Alabama Department of Public Health demanding that it immediately revoke WAWC’s license in light of evidence that Torres obtained her medical license by fraud.
In hiring Torres, Yellowhammer facilitated the commission of illegal and unethical acts, which is grounds for revoking WAWC’s license.
Former Tuscaloosa Abortionist Surrenders Medical License During Investigation
November 1, 2020
Dr. Louis T. Payne, 81 year old former abortionist at West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, voluntarily surrendered his medical license during an investigation by the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners.
A complaint was made to the Alabama Medical Board in the fall of 2019 when witnesses saw him going into work while his arm looked to be immobilized by his side, as in a sling or harness. Considering he was the only abortionist in Tuscaloosa at the time, questions were raised as to how Payne could safely do abortions with only one healthy arm. Other complaints have also been made against Payne, including his repeatedly taking a dog into West Alabama Women’s Center.
As of October 21, 2020, Payne is no longer authorized to practice medicine in Alabama.
Truth Time for Torres
December 10, 2020
As you recall, Dr. Leah Torres, former abortionist in Tuscaloosa had her Alabama medical license suspended in September of this year for fraudulently filling out her medical license application. It is now time for her to appear before the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners to explain her actions. Torres is appealing four counts of fraud made on her original application to perform abortions in Tuscaloosa.
For more info on the license suspension click here.
Here is an excerpt from the original order, click here to view the whole document.
Autopsy Report Reveals Alabama Woman Died of Perforated Uterus During Abortion at West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa
March 15, 2021
by Operation Rescue
edited by ProlifeTuscaloosa
Operation Rescue has uncovered that a woman who died after leaving the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) abortion facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on May 7, 2020, has been identified through her autopsy report as 29-year-old April Lowery.
The report was obtained by the CEC for Life on behalf of a coalition of national and local pro-life groups that also includes Operation Rescue, Life Legal Defense Foundation, and Pro-Life Tuscaloosa.
Lowery was seen on May 7, 2020, leaving the WAWC by pro-life activists, who described her as “sick and pale.” She had to be physically supported as she struggled to walk from the clinic to an awaiting private vehicle, which then reportedly transported her to what is believed to have been UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where she was later pronounced dead.
One local pro-life activist had been wrongly told by at least one WAWC employee that Lowery had died from a drug overdose and that she had not even wanted an abortion.
Now, the coalition of pro-life groups has now learned her true cause of death, which has led to questions about whether she was coerced or forced into having the surgical abortion.
While Fentanyl was found in her system, that is a common drug used by abortion facilities as a pre-abortion sedative. Several drugs were listed on Lowery’s toxicology report, including an anxiety drug and marijuana, but none of those were responsible for her death.
The cause of death listed on Lowery’s autopsy report was “Uterine perforation,” a known complication to surgical abortions.
The autopsy described Lowery’s fatal wounds in detail.
There is a is a perforation of the left portion of the cervix, below the internal cervical os. The perforation extends into the broad ligament with maceration of the lower uterine segment and vasculature of the broad ligament. This is associated with massive hemoperitoneum (approximately 1-1/2 liters). The uterus contains an intact fetus.
In layman’s terms, a hole was torn in the lower part of Lowery’s womb, missing her growing baby. That wound led to severe damage to a portion of a broad ligament and blood vessels, which were macerated, or chewed up, by abortion instruments. This caused massive internal bleeding of approximately 51 ounces, which resulted in Lowery’s death.
Her dead unborn baby was found intact within her injured womb. No gestational age or sex for the baby was noted in the autopsy report.
It is no wonder that Lowery looked pale and needed support to walk the few feet to the awaiting vehicle after her abortion. Lowery must have continued to hemorrhage internally during the 59-mile drive to Birmingham from the Tuscaloosa abortion facility. By the time she reached the hospital, it was too late to save her life.
It seems that the story told to the pro-life activist about a drug overdose was disinformation on the part of the clinic worker. Lowery’s internal injuries could only have been caused by a severely botched abortion.
Other findings
Sadly, the autopsy report revealed other findings about Lowery’s health that were unrelated to her pregnancy and cause of death.
The report noted that even though Lowery was 29, she looked older than her age. Calcium deposits were found on one of her heart valves that narrowed the opening, indicating early stages of heart disease.
Then there were the multiple transversal scars noted across her left wrist, suggesting a possible suicide attempt sometime in her past.
“These findings are indicative of a woman who led a difficult and tragic life,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “It is sad that her life ended in further tragedy for her and her unborn baby.”
Delay in autopsy report release
Under normal circumstances, the release of autopsy reports usually takes 6-8 weeks. Lowery’s took over eight months.
A request for her autopsy report was made in August 2020, after a phone call to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science Headquarters confirmed the report was finally available. However, that request was later denied, citing the fact that there was an ongoing criminal investigation into Lowery’s death.
The denial letter stated in part, “District Attorney Hays Webb has notified the Alabama Department of Forensic Science that this case remains under criminal investigation. . . Consequently, the final reports in this case are not currently public record.”
A follow-up request was made in January 2021, and a copy of April Lowery’s autopsy was finally released at the request of Dr. Patricia Gensemer of the CEC for Life. The public availability of the autopsy report indicated that the criminal investigation also concluded.
A message left with the office of Captain Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit requesting information about the disposition of the criminal investigation was not returned as of this writing.
Review finds fault
The CEC for Life submitted the autopsy report for analysis by an ObGyn licensed in the State of Alabama. That doctor, whose name is being withheld at this time, concluded that the treatment and injuries suffered by Lowery were egregious and violated the standard of care. He volunteered to testify about his conclusions should a medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit ever be filed against the abortion business and/or the abortionist.
“April suffered horrendous, avoidable injuries that resulted in her death and the death of her child. This cannot be allowed to be swept under the rug. Someone needs to be held accountable in a court of law for this tragic loss of life,” said Dr. Terry Gensemer, Director of the CEC for Life.
New ownership
One of the entities that is obviously responsible is the West Alabama Women’s Center, which has accumulated several legal problems over the past few months.
The WAWC changed ownership in May 2020 – the same month April Lowery underwent a fatal abortion. In fact, the new owner assumed the administration of the facility the same week as Lowery’s death.
The abortion business was sold by long-time owner Gloria Gray to Amanda Reyes, a LGBTQ activist and former abortion clinic escort who had no medical training or background. She served as founder and director for the Yellowhammer Fund, which provided limited financial assistance for women seeking abortions. It had earlier received a windfall of more than $2 million in donations almost overnight after the passage of the Alabama Human Life Protection Act in 2019. Part of that money was used to purchase the WAWC.
During the time that Lowery visited the WAWC, it was still operating under a facility license issued to former owner Gloria Gray in violation of Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 420-5-1, which requires the issuance of a new license upon change of ownership.
As of March 10, 2020, when Operation Rescue first reported on Lowery’s death, the WAWC had not yet been inspected after Reyes took control. It was last inspected in January 2019. The lack of an inspection and the Alabama Department of Public Health’s reluctance to follow their own licensing laws has prompted the coalition of pro-life groups to lodge a formal complaint with the ADPH over the WAWC’s noncompliance with the Alabama Administrative Code.
Abortionist unfit?
The abortionist most likely on duty the day of Lowery’s fatal abortion was octogenarian Louis T. Payne. He retired on July 24, 2020, several weeks after Lowery’s avoidable death. This was Payne’s second retirement. He initially retired in 2015, but soon returned to work at the WAWC when Gloria Gray could not find another abortionist to replace him.
Perhaps not coincidentally, on October 19, 2020, Payne voluntarily surrendered his medical license while under active investigation by the ADPH on unspecified disciplinary charges. According to Payne’s surrender documents, the license surrender had the same effect as a revocation. Payne agreed not to seek license re-instatement.
More problems
Payne was replaced by Utah abortionist Leah Torres, who is perhaps best known as an internet troll that targets pro-life Twitter accounts.
While Torres conducted abortions briefly under a temporary Alabama medical license, the State Board of Medical Examiners ordered her to cease and desist the practice of medicine and surrender her temporary license last August after the Board found that she had fraudulently answered four questions on her application for a permanent license.
Today, her Alabama license status is listed as “Expired.”
Abortions halted for now
Finding an abortionist that was willing to travel to Tuscaloosa has been no easy task for Reyes, as the former owner also discovered. WAWC has been conducting abortions on a sporadic basis over the past few months.
Now, the abortion facility has temporarily halted abortions altogether, referring women instead to an abortion business in Huntsville. It remains open on a limited schedule for non-abortion related business.
The staff appears to spend most of their time fundraising through the Yellowhammer Fund, whose bank account now seems to be significantly depleted.
Just days ago, the abortion facility staff was begging for funds on Facebook because their building needs a new roof, which they say will cost the princely sum of $35,000.
Meanwhile, Ellen Hermann, Director of Pro-Life Tuscaloosa, recently circulated a photo of a Stericycle driver wheeling a stack of empty red biohazard bins out of the West Alabama Women’s clinic. These are the bins that usually hold the remains of aborted babies and infectious waste generated by the abortions, which had been halted temporarily at WAWC.
Just this week, the WAWC once again began taking abortion appointments for up to 11 weeks gestation at a cost of $700.00 — $150 of that non-refundable, should the woman change her mind.
“There are still questions about the dangers at the West Alabama Women’s Center abortion facility. Accountability for the death of April Lowery and her baby is still an unresolved issue. The question also remains unanswered about whether she willingly submitted to the abortion procedure,” said Newman. “We cannot look the other way and allow this injustice to go unanswered. Woman’s life was wrongfully taken. That is something that cannot and should not be overlooked.”
Read April Lowery’s autopsy report.
April Lowery Autopsy Report
dated January 14, 2021
Click here for the PDF autopsy report for April Lowery, the woman who was killed when her uterus was perforated at West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa on May 7, 2020. At the time, the abortionist was Dr. Louis Payne, who retired shortly after her death.
West Alabama Women’s Center Fails Inspection with Shady Practices and Rusty Surgical Instruments After Giving Woman a Fatal Abortion
March 31, 2021
Operation Rescue reports that West Alabama Women’s Center, the Alabama abortion facility where a woman received a fatal abortion last year, was cited for serious personnel and infection control violations during a four-visit inspection that took place four months after a patient died last year.
April Lowery, 29, died as the result of an attempted abortion she received the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) in Tuscaloosa on May 7, 2020. During that abortion, she suffered a perforated uterus that caused internal injuries and hemorrhaging, according to her autopsy report.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) conducted four on-site survey visits to the WAWC between September 1-30, 2020, with a final follow-up phone interview on October 13, 2020, the same day the report was dated.
Certified in 40 seconds
When inspectors first arrived at the abortion facility on September 1, 2020, they were informed by Clinic Administrator Amanda Reyes that there was no one on staff who could conduct abortions. The Medical Director at that time was Leah Torres, who was acting on a temporary medical license while her permanent license application was being processed. But on August 20, 2020, she was ordered to cease and desist the practice of medicine after it was determined she had repeatedly lied on her Alabama medical license application. At the time of this inspection, she was serving as the “Clinical Services Administrator.”
The WAWC was able to hire a new Interim Medical Director on September 14, 2020. Abortions were resumed on September 16 and appointments were scheduled for two days per week.
In Alabama, Medical Directors are responsible for certifying that licensed physicians that conduct abortions at their facilities are competent to do so. This is done by observing each licensee as he or she conducts abortions.
The new Medical Director wasted no time in certifying two abortionists.
However, the Medical Director later admitted that he/she was serving only on an interim basis and had never actually visited the WAWC facility. Instead, Physician A was “certified” during a 40 second Zoom call and Physician B during a Zoom call that lasted 7 minutes and 17 seconds.
The Interim Medical Director confirmed that the new abortionists were “certified” while dispensing abortion pills, not during surgical abortions, which they would also be required to do. A correction plan submitted by Reyes noted that all abortionists certified via Zoom calls would be re-certified by a Medical Director in person.
“How can someone’s competency be evaluated in just 40 seconds? This whole certification process was a sham from the beginning to end,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “It is shocking that Reyes and Torres would pull a stunt like this after a woman died just four months earlier from a completely botched abortion at their facility by an abortionist whose competency was in question. It shows no consideration for human life – of the baby or the mother.”
Former WAWC abortionist Louis T. Payne, 81, who was believed responsible for April Lowery’s negligent abortion, “retired” from WAWC on July 24, 2020, then surrendered his medical license in October, rather than face pending disciplinary action.
Brown Rust on Surgical Instruments
During the initial inspection visit on September 1, 2020, inspectors discovered brown rust on multiple metal dilators, which were used to open the cervix during surgical abortions. Those dilators were thrown away.
An inspector returned to WAWC on September 29 to observe surgical abortions. Afterwards, that inspector was taken to the sterilization room to observe “tissue processing” and instrument cleaning.
It then became apparent that no one in the facility understood how to properly sanitize medical instruments or operate the autoclave, a device that completes the sterilization process.
Packets of instruments lacked any date and contained no indicator strips that are supposed to be used in each packet to ensure proper sterilization. One employee made the excuse that he/she sometimes would be rushed and forget to put them in. This turned out to be a lie.
When checking charts, sterilization indicator strips were seen taped inside the patient chart covers. When asked about them, the employee confessed, “To be honest, I just run some strips through the autoclave to put in the chart, because the ones in the pack will get blood on them and you can’t put those in the chart.” That employee then searched the drawers of allegedly sterilized equipment packets saying, “I’m sure there are some packets with strips in here somewhere.” However, none were found.
What was found was more rusty dilators and other contaminated instruments.
Reyes’ correction plan included retraining staff in sterilization protocols developed by the National Abortion Federation, a consortium of abortion facilities across the nation.
“There is little confidence in WAWC using NAF protocols since NAF-certified abortion facilities have traditionally been among the worst facilities in the nation when it comes to cleanliness, infection control, and competency of staffs,” said Newman. “I know this from personal experience because I purchased a former NAF-certified abortion facility in Wichita, Kansas, in 2006, and it was filthy beyond description. So, just because a facility says it is following NAF protocols, that’s no guarantee that medical standards are really being met.”
WAWC has only conducted abortions on a sporadic basis since the time this inspection report was completed in October. However, on March 24, 2021, Leah Torres was finally issued a full Alabama medical license, which has allowed her to resume abortions there.
“Given Torres’ issues with dishonesty and the clinic’s track record of serious deficiencies, it is only a matter of time before another woman is hurt or killed,” said Newman. “This abortion facility must be closed by the Alabama Department of Public Health before tragedy strike again.”
Read the WAWC Inspection report dated October 13, 2020.
View a timeline of WAWC events and troubles (includes previously unpublished information).
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Licensed To Kill Again
April 3, 2021
IMPORTANT UPDATE: On March 24, 2021, Leah Torres was issued a full Alabama medical license, which has allowed her to resume killing children at West Alabama Women’s Center. This license was approved by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.
Abortionist Leah Torres made ‘deceptive’ and ‘untruthful’ claims, says Alabama medical board
September 10, 2021
by Live Action
edited by Prolife Tuscaloosa
Abortionist Dr. Leah Torres — who previously made headlines for profoundly tone-deaf and grotesque pro-abortion statements such as “God performs way more abortions than I do” and for calling “not being pregnant anymore” a “medical indication” for abortion — once again has an active medical license in the state of Alabama. Yet interestingly, Torres’ account of the restoration of her current license does not match the account of the General Counsel of the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners (ASBME).
Last year, Torres’ temporary license to practice medicine in Alabama was revoked for alleged fraud on her application three weeks after she started working in the state. Over $115,000 in legal fees and an ethics class later, according to a GoFundMe set up to cover her court costs, Torres was granted a medical license in March 2021 and has been committing abortions at the same unsanitary Alabama abortion facility that was found responsible for killing 29-year-old April Lowery due to botched abortion in May 2020.
Torres was hired to replace Louis Payne, the abortionist who retired from West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa after Lowery died. WAWC had faced likely closure earlier in 2020 for Payne’s planned retirement, but the facility was purchased by Yellowhammer Fund, whose communications director at the time, Robin Marty, is now the communications director for WAWC. Torres began working in early August 2020, only to learn on August 26 that her temporary license had been revoked and that she’d been ordered by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners to “immediately CEASE and DESIST from the practice of medicine in the State of Alabama.”
The cease and desist letter read, “the Board presently has evidence in its possession that the continuance in practice of LEAH N. TORRES, M.D. may constitute an immediate danger to her patients and/or the public.”
The letter cited multiple instances of suspected fraud in Torres’ application for licensure, including responding ‘No’ to a question about whether her staff privileges at a hospital had ever previously been revoked or otherwise altered when in fact, “[her] staff privileges at a hospital or healthcare facility had been revoked, suspended, curtailed, limited, or placed under conditions restricting [her] practice.”
The letter also listed that Torres answered ‘No’ to a question about whether she had ever faced medical malpractice allegations, when in fact, “a medical malpractice action relating to [her] performance of professional service was settled on or about August 28, 2018.” The letter further suggested Torres committed fraud by answering ‘No’ to a question about past psychological or behavioral issues impacting her practice of medicine, when in fact, “on or about March 13th, 2019, [Torres], through counsel, raised the issue of a mental, emotional, nervous, or behavioral disorder or condition as a defense, mitigation, or explanation for your actions in the course of a judicial proceeding in the United States District Court for the District of Utah.”
The letter went on to contend that Torres provided “false, misleading, or untruthful information” regarding dates of employment, claiming that she was employed during a certain time period when she was not. The Board further noted that she had been found to have “…violate[d] the high standards of honesty, diligence, prudence, and ethical integrity demanded from physicians licensed to practice in Alabama…” A hearing was set for December of 2020. In the meantime, Dr. Torres continued to work at the facility in a non-medical role listed on the facility’s website as the “Clinical Services Administrator.”
According to a statement by the chairman of the Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama, the hearing on December 21, 2020, additionally addressed a statement on Torres’ application that she intended to work with COVID-19 patients, though in fact she was being hired to commit abortions at an abortion facility.
The chairman’s statement regarding the hearing summarized that “there were elements in some of Dr. Torres’s answers in her application which… were suggestive of deceptive answers and a lack of ethical integrity expected of practicing physicians in Alabama. Thus, the Commission directs that Dr. Torres must attend an ethics course.” Torres additionally had to pay an administrative fine of $4,000. In January, Torres completed the ethics class, and in March her Alabama medical license was approved.
A recent update to a local CBS affiliate suggests that Torres is still deceiving the public. While Torres claimed to have received a letter from the ASBME informing her that the actions against her “should never have been taken,” and the GoFundMe she used to raise funds for her legal fees reads similarly, a statement from the ASBME’s General Counsel contradicts these claims.
“Dr. Torres’ statement that she received a letter from the Board stating that ‘(this) action should never have been taken’ is indicative of the deceptive answers the Board charged her with providing in her license application,” wrote the ASBME. “No correspondence of this nature was ever sent to her by the Board. We suspect that Dr. Torres is referring to a computer generated letter sent to her by the National Practitioner Data Bank.”
BREAKING NEWS: Woman Sues Tuscaloosa Abortion Clinic Over Allegedly Botched Abortion
Tuscaloosa Thread (12/06/21)
A woman from Shelby County has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) in Tuscaloosa over an abortion that allegedly almost killed her and left her unable to become pregnant again last December. The five-count lawsuit was filed last month, on November 11th, in the circuit court of Tuscaloosa County. Judge Daniel F. Pruet, who was elected to his seat on the bench in 2020, will preside over the case.
“Predisposed to Suffer”
The suit centers on the plight of a Shelby County woman identified under the pseudonym “Jane Stone,” who reportedly first visited the WAWC on December 22, 2020, for a pre-admission evaluation for an abortion. “Jane Stone informed [a nurse] that she decided to have an abortion after prenatal genealogical testing revealed that her child was predisposed to suffer from lifelong health disorders, including Downs [sic] Syndrome,” according to the lawsuit.
Alabama Abortion Biz is Sued for Botched Late-Term Abortion Like One that Killed a Woman There Last Year
December 9, 2021
(Operation Rescue) An Alabama woman has filed a medical malpractice suit against the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) abortion facility in Tuscaloosa and one of its abortionists, Tamer Middleton, after she endured a near-fatal botched second trimester abortion last December.
Her complaint detailed her injuries that bear similarities to those that resulted in the death of WAWC patient April Lowery in May 2020.
The plaintiff filed her suit on November 11, 2021, under the pseudonym Jane Stone. Her true name is sealed under a protective order.
Jane Stone was lucky to survive her ordeal, which included being misled about the abortion process and its potential complications, forced dilation of an inadequately prepared cervix that resulted in cervical lacerations and perforation, uterine perforation, sliced broad uterine ligament and arteries, massive internal hemorrhaging, and a refusal of WAWC staff to heed her pleas for an ambulance to transport her to the hospital until she lost consciousness.
Misinformation
Stone’s complaint alleges that she went to the WAWC in Tuscaloosa on December 22, 2020, to be evaluated for a second trimester abortion because genetic testing showed that her baby boy was “pre-disposed to suffer from lifelong health disorders, including Downs Syndrome [sic].”
New Lawsuit Alleges Horrific Treatment of Woman Who Barely Survived Her Tuscaloosa Abortion
January 5, 2022
On Saturday, January 8th at 10:00 AM, the Alabama-based organization CEC For Life, along with other national pro-life groups Life Legal Defense Foundation and Operation Rescue, will hold a press conference in front of Tuscaloosa’s West Alabama Women’s Center, located at 535 Jack Warner Parkway. The same abortion clinic recently sued for letting a patient nearly bleed to death after a botched abortion.
Last month, under the pseudonym of Jane Stone, a woman filed suit against WAWC for an abortion that took place on December 28, 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Tamer Middleton’s medical mistakes resulted in a lacerated cervix, perforated uterus, and other life-threatening injuries that caused Stone to hemorrhage internally. In the hours that followed, Stone alleges she was left to bleed in a recovery chair, despite loss of consciousness and pleas to call an ambulance. According to the complaint, an ambulance was only called when staff could no longer detect Stone’s pulse. Once at the ER, an emergency hysterectomy was the only way to save her.
BREAKING NEWS: Rogue Alabama Abortion Facility Has Been Cited Again for Using Rusty Surgical Instruments
January 27, 2022
(Operation Rescue) For the second time in a row, an Alabama abortion facility that was responsible for the death of one woman and horrific injuries to another, has failed a licensing inspection that included citations for conducting abortions with rusty, unsanitary surgical equipment.
The West Alabama Women’s Center, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was inspected by the Alabama Department of Public Health on December 14, 2021, during which it was cited for the following:
- Failure to render patient care in accordance with all applicable laws.
- Failure to discard rusty and damaged surgical instruments.
- Failure to properly clean and sterilize surgical instruments.
- Failure to properly test and maintain autoclaves where surgical instruments are sterilized.
- Failure to follow CDC handwashing guidelines.
The six-page deficiency report was signed by the WAWC’s new Operations Director, Robin Marty, whose background is in communications and not in any area of medicine or medical facility oversight.
Also referenced in the report was abortionist Leah Torres, who serves as the abortion facility’s medical director. The ADPH suspended Torres’ temporary medical license in August 2020 for committing fraud by lying on her license application and was ordered to cease and desist the practice of medicine. Torres was finally issued a permanent Alabama medical license on March 24, 2021, after which she resumed her position as medical director, which includes conducting abortions.
BREAKING NEWS: HIPAA Violations and Another Dangerous Abortionist at West Alabama Women’s Center
February 22, 2022
(CEC For Life) Yet another alarming discovery was made last week regarding the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa — the highest performing abortion clinic in Alabama.
Recently, Fr. Terry Gensemer and his wife Patti came home to find large black garbage bags left anonymously in their driveway.
When opened, their hearts broke. They found surgical pads soiled in blood and fluids, tubes also containing fluids, and one tube that contained what appeared to be a small piece of human tissue. There was also paperwork which included patient names and information, ultrasound photos, and the header “West Alabama Women’s Center.” It was clear that however this medical waste and information ended up in Birmingham, it originated from the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa and had not been properly discarded. Names and dates of birth, photos of patient’s children in the womb, and unsafe bodily fluids had been left somewhere that HIPAA laws clearly do not permit.
One paper in particular listed the name of an abortionist not previously known to be associated with WAWC — Diane Horvath, an abortionist out of Maryland. This was a significant find. WAWC has employed a string of dangerous abortionists: Dr. Louis Payne, who was forced to finally surrender his license only after a woman died; Dr. Willie Parker, who has been accused of sexual misconduct; Dr. Leah Torres, whose Alabama license was initially suspended for fraud and professional misconduct.
BREAKING: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, giving decision back to the states
June 24, 2022
(1819 News) Friday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) officially released its decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, changing the landscape of abortion policy in the nation.
The 6-3 decision will allow states to set their own laws on abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization upheld a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Roe has allowed for abortions for up to 6 months, so now states can act without being challenged in federal court over their decision to ban abortion after a certain time.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion.
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” the decision stated.
Stricter laws on abortion are expected to be enacted in some states.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Alito wrote. “That provision has been held to guarantee some rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution, but any such right must be ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ and ’implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.”
Justices disagreeing with the majority said the opinion takes away the rights of a woman as soon as she gets pregnant.
“A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs,” they wrote. ″An abortion restriction, the majority holds, is permissible whenever rational, the lowest level of scrutiny known to the law. And because, as the Court has often stated, protecting fetal life is rational, States will feel free to enact all manner of restrictions.”
The ruling Friday came as no surprise after the leaking of an apparent first draft of the opinion in May.
Since then, protests and rallies have taken place against the SCOTUS, and the Department of Homeland Security warned of threats against justices if Roe v. Wade was overturned.
To read the official decision in its entirety, click here.
Almost half the states have laws in place or at the ready to curtail or outlaw abortion, while others have laws that would preserve its legality. Questions on whether and how to limit abortions are expected to continue roiling state legislative debates.
In 2019, the Alabama Legislature passed a near-total ban on abortion, the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, but it was put on hold when U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued a preliminary injunction to keep it from taking effect.
The decision also is a defining moment for a Supreme Court that is more conservative than it has been in many decades, a shift in legal thinking made possible after President Donald Trump placed three justices on the court. Two of them succeeded justices who voted to affirm abortion rights.
Elective Abortion Are Illegal in Alabama
June 27, 2022
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall Statement on Overturn of Roe v. Wade.
June 27, 2022
Exciting Week Recap
June 28, 2022
As you all know, last Friday brought the incredible news that the US Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade.
Below we’ve included pertinent information regarding Tuscaloosa, Alabama, & the surrounding states and where things now stand.
It was great to get a report from those on the sidewalk at West Alabama Women’s Center as soon as the decision was announced!
“While this prayer team was praying one of our prolife advocates was praying with a father from TN who brought his 24 year old daughter for the first consultation for an abortion. When that was done a lady pulled over to the shoulder of the road and yelled out through the window that Roe had been overturned. The Pro Lifers could not believe it. Five minutes later the abortuary emptied out and they all drove off. HOW IS THAT FOR AN ENDING! AFTER THESE DECADES!“
Alabama abortion organizations pause services amid review of law
June 30, 2022
(AL.com) As the Alabama attorney general’s office considers legal implications of an abortion ban in Alabama, two major pro-abortion organizations in Alabama announced Wednesday that they will be halting certain services temporarily.
The West Alabama Women’s Center, one of Alabama’s five abortion clinics, stopped providing abortions on Friday, but announced today that they will be closed until Monday, July 11, when they will reopen to offer reproductive health care services.
The Yellowhammer Fund, a 501(c)3 abortion fund and reproductive justice organization, announced Wednesday that they would “temporarily pause” certain services for the safety of their clients, supporters and staff. They wrote that they would be consulting legal experts on how to continue their work following the decision.
Click here for 1993-2020 West Alabama Women’s Center history.