Pro Life Infonet recently shared a Los Angeles Times report on the closing of an unlicensed West Hollywood abortion mill. Health officials are looking into allegations that owner Edgar Ruiz, 42, practiced medicine without a license at Centro Medico Para La Mujer.

Ruiz allegedly charged $200 in cash for abortions, targeting uninsured women who wanted discreet services with no paper trail. Ruiz reportedly told authorities that he is licensed to practice medicine in his native Nicaragua, but he is not licensed in the United States.

Ruiz had evidently been operating the mill for four years in its location in a medical building on Santa Monica Boulevard, near the Hollywood Freeway.

Authorities first were tipped off at the facility when a patient called November 30 to complain. The woman's sister suspected the clinic was not licensed.

An undercover sheriff's deputy posed as a patient at the clinic, and reported that the unlicensed Ruiz offered to perform a pelvic examination. Ruiz was arrested, and hundreds of patient files were seized.

Bail was set at $1 million, and investigators asked the district attorney's office to file felony charges against Ruiz. However, the district attorney's office failed to move, saying they'd not had sufficient time to review the seized records. When the 48-hour deadline to arraign Ruiz passed, he was released.

Investigators reported that Ruiz did have a licensed physician that performed some procedures at the clinic, but the LA Times report did not mention his or her name.

Authorities asked anyone treated by Ruiz to call (800) 427-8700. To report an illegal clinic, call the county health department at (213) 989-7039.

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