Court Ruling Keeps $7.5M Abortion Clinic on Ice
A new multi-million Planned Parenthood clinic in the suburbs of Chicago will remain closed, indefinitely, ruled a federal judge Thursday.
In a ruling that pro-life advocates hailed as an "unprecedented victory," U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle in Chicago refused to order the city of Aurora to allow Planned Parenthood to open its new building. But he predicts that a long legal battle lies ahead.
"By no means is this case over," the judge said, according to The Associated Press. "By no means."
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Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion procedures along with family planning and reproductive health services, was planning to officially open its new $7.5 million, 22,000-square foot clinic in Aurora on Tuesday, but was barred from opening after it entered a legal battle over the means in which it obtained its building permits.
At the heart of the debate is whether local building laws or the Constitution should take priority in this case.
Anti-abortion activists argue that Planned Parenthood had deliberately misled city officials about the intended use of the building to avoid protest. The agency had applied for building permits under the name of one of its subsidiary, Gemini Office Development.
"The people of Aurora were deprived of our freedom of choice, the freedom to know what kind of businesses were coming to town, the freedom to discuss these matters openly," said Eric Scheidler, communications director for the Pro-Life Action League, according to CBS Chicago.
Anti-abortion activists have protested at the Aurora clinic for over five weeks trying to shut it down.
Abortion proponents, meanwhile, say the use of the building is legal and protected under the constitution. Planned Parenthood has vowed to file a complaint that they are being treated differently than other businesses.
The city of Aurora is currently investigating whether Planned Parenthood was fraudulent in its application and public testimony on use of the building. Results for the investigation are expected by next Friday.
Meanwhile, pro-lifers are reveling in the judge's favorable ruling, calling it an "unprecedented victory." They have also pledged to continue their fight against Planned Parenthood regardless of whether the clinic eventually opens or not.
"We will be out on the sidewalk offering women the choice for life; offering all the help that we can to them so they don't have to make the desperate and painful decision of aborting their unborn children," Scheidler said, according to CBS.
"We'll fight Planned Parenthood in the schools, in our churches, in our neighborhoods, right out on the sidewalk outside their building where we've been for more than 40 days. And we'll continue our fight against Planned Parenthood, until ultimately Planned Parenthood will close its doors and leave Aurora, Illinois, once and for all."
