Abortion: September 2007 Archives

BY DAVE PARRO

Attorney Vince Tessitore's contention that Planned Parenthood needs a special-use permit to open its Aurora clinic could prove to be a turning point in this convoluted case. If he's correct, Aurora will have a legal right to bring approval of the facility back before the City Council.

Planned Parenthood is arguing that the special-use permit and required public hearing wasn't necessary because the clinic was approved as a planned development district with underlying medical-use zoning, which is basically an amendment to the zoning map.

If Aurora decides a public hearing is necessary and enough neighboring residents object, the council would need a supermajority vote to grant the special-use permit. There might be enough aldermen who oppose the clinic to vote it down under those rules.

BY DAVE PARRO

UPDATE (Sept. 20): A federal judge will allow the clinic to remain closed while the city completes its review.

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: How many lawyers does it take to find out if Planned Parenthood was deceptive or fraudulent during the city of Aurora approval process?

In the latest twist, Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti will review the reviews of two independent attorneys hired by the city who later turned out to have conflicts of interest. It has now been more than three weeks since the city announced its investigation.

All of this might be pointless, too, if a federal judge rules Thursday that the city cannot delay the clinic's opening.

BY DAVE PARRO

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, R-Aurora, plans to officially launch his campaign for Congress this week with a three-day, 24-stop tour through the 14th District.

Lauzen, who is seeking to replace retiring Rep. Dennis Hastert, pretty much lays out his campaign strategy by calling his kickoff the "Faith, Family, and the Fruits of Freedom” Tour. The eight-term state senator said those are the pillars he has brought to the General Assembly and will bring to the halls of Congress.

With the Planned Parenthood clinic story getting bigger every day, Lauzen's timing couldn't be better to launch a platform built on those values.

BY DAVE PARRO

UPDATE (Sept. 17): The clinic opening will be delayed until at least Thursday so both sides can make their arguments in court.

UPDATE: (Sept. 14): Planned Parenthood has sued the city of Aurora because city officials have indicated the clinic likely will not open on time because of the attorney review.

(Originally published Sept. 7)

For a couple weeks now, the Sept. 18 opening for the Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora has seemed in doubt. The response from anti-abortion activists was so loud that the City Council and Mayor Tom Weisner couldn't ignore it. On top of that, the alleged deception on the part of Planned Parenthood gave the city a legitimate reason to pause and review its every move.

Weisner said Thursday that he won't push to have the independent attorney review complete by the Sept. 17 deadline, a day before the clinic is supposed to open. "My intent is to get the facts," he said, before the city issues a final occupancy permit.

Even if it turns out that Planned Parenthood met all the disclosure requirements and the women's health clinic ends up opening, it's important that city officials feel confident in their approval process. If Planned Parenthood has to wait to open its doors for a few days or even a few weeks, that's the price they pay for coming into Aurora in disguise.

BY DAVE PARRO

Two weeks ago, the anti-abortion activists packed the Aurora City Council meeting to protest the Planned Parenthood clinic. After six hours of testimony, the meeting ended at 1:30 a.m.

On Tuesday night, the abortion-rights supporters had their say. This time, the council limited the public-comment period to three hours. Three aldermen voted against the time limit.

The Beacon News praised the City Council two weeks ago for not cutting off debate and criticized the five aldermen who wanted the comments to end at 9 p.m. But at what point does the abortion controversy hijack the city's regular business? Should aldermen continue to hear the same arguments over and over again, even when they're not voting on anything related to the issue?

BY DAVE PARRO

In a letter sent to Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area CEO Steve Trombley on Friday, an attorney for the Pro-Life Action League, Eric Scheidler and the Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood demanded he retract statements he made about their "well-documented history of violence and criminal activity."

If Trombley fails to take back the statements he made in a letter to the Aurora City Council and mayor and in an ad that ran in The Beacon News, a lawsuit will be filed.

This just keeps getting uglier and uglier as the scheduled opening date of the Planned Parenthood clinic approaches.

BY DAVE PARRO

With the city of Aurora reviewing the approval process surrounding the controversial women's health clinic on the far East Side, Planned Parenthood officially responded to allegations of deceit Wednesday.

In a letter to aldermen and the mayor, Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area CEO Steve Trombley admitted the true nature of the clinic was not publicly volunteered, but he claims the organization followed the law. Essentially, he's saying Planned Parenthood walked a fine legal line.

Trombley says "we took appropriate precautions" to protect workers and future clients from potentially violent anti-abortion activists. But, he says, anyone who looked hard enough could have easily figured out that the medical facility being built was going to be a full-service Planned Parenthood clinic.