Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org

LOS ANGELES, November 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Jury selection is scheduled to begin in Los Angles on December 1, 2008, in the trial of Bertha Bugarin, an abortion chain owner who is charged with 18 felony counts of committing abortions without a medical license. If convicted, she could face over 15 years in jail.

Bugarin also faces 10 felonies and one misdemeanor in San Diego County for the same offense. Bugarin had a hearing in that case earlier this month, and she is scheduled for trial in San Diego sometime next year.

Bugarin once owned the Clinica Medica Para La Mujer De Hoy chain of seedy abortion clinics that targeted Hispanic areas of Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. Her targeting of these neighborhoods was to prey on women who might be illegal, desperate, and have no ability to report shoddy care to the authorities. At its height of prosperity, the chain ran eleven clinics, but problems with the incompetent abortionists hired by Bugarin troubled the chain.

Nicholas Braemer, the medical director, surrendered his medical license under pressure in 2000 after Operation Rescue exposed his numerous botched abortions and other problems. He was replaced as medical director by Laurence Reich, a convicted sex offender, who lost his medical license in 2006 for continued episodes of sexual abuse against his abortion patients. He was again arrested last February for continuing to commit abortions without a license at Bugarin's Panorama City mill.

Numerous other Bugarin abortionists also lost their medical licenses or were disciplined for harming women during abortions.

Under pressure from Operation Rescue, Bugarin began gradually closing clinics. In the end, in order to keep her lucrative and predatory abortion business open, she resorted to doing the abortions herself, even though she had no medical background or training.

With the closure of the Chula Vista location over the summer, four abortion mills remain, now under the control of troubled abortionist Nolan Jones, who has a long history of disciplinary action taken against his license.

"We have worked long to bring Bugarin to justice. Her attitude was that she was above the law and could get away with anything, which is so common in the abortion industry," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "To abortionists like that, laws are meant to be broken. The only way to stop them from continuing to hurt women and illegally kill babies is to put them behind bars."

About Operation Rescue

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation.  Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America.  Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.