By Olivia Gans Turner, President, Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL)
In 2022 shortly after the Dobbs decision an abortion facility owner in nearby Tennessee decided to move the business over the state line into Bristol, Virginia, in anticipation of new pro-life laws that were passed in Tennessee and North Carolina. Virginia currently has very loose laws regarding abortion practice.
The new facility, Bristol Women’s Health, which does abortions up to 16 weeks, opened in 2022. The administrator of the facility, Karolina Ogorek, admits that there has been a sharp increase in business due to women from other states being encouraged by abortion promoters to come to Virginia.
The struggle to close this facility is now in the Courts as the owners of the building housing the facility have sued Bristol Women’s Health based on their claim that they were not informed that the new “medical clinic” was actually performing abortions. The owners’ case is based on their moral opposition to abortion, and they say they were not informed that the new facility intended to do abortions on site. Representing the owners in court are two local attorneys, Del. Terry Kilgore and former Del. Will Wampler, III.
The local pro-lifers continue to attempt to pray outside and try to communicate with women entering the building and offer them help to give their babies life. The abortion staff are disturbed by the presence of these dedicated local residents who understand that whenever women walk in the facility two go in but only one comes out. The Bristol community does not support abortion and wants this dreadful blight on their hometown closed soon.
(While VSHL supports the local effort to legally close this facility we advise against using images of the babies killed by abortion or using words like murderer towards the mothers. It is well established that many women who get abortions do so under pressure from a partner or family. We encourage peaceful prayer and calm words when approaching these frightened mothers.)