As it stands, no woman could legally get an abortion within 20 miles of Naperville. But that's about to change, as Planned Parenthood gets ready to open a full-service health center Sept. 18 at East New York Street and Oakhurst Drive in the DuPage County section of Aurora.
The facility has become one of the latest battlegrounds in the debate over abortion. On the one side, groups such as the Pro-Life Action League, Operation Rescue, the American Life League and local Catholic Church members have protested against the clinic's opening.
On the other side, members of Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women have demonstrated in support of the facility.
For the most part, demonstrations thus far have been peaceful, though a couple of pro-choice activists were arrested outside the clinic this week after they clashed with a group of pro-life demonstrators.
Opponents of the facility say that at 22,000 square feet it will be one of the nation's largest abortion clinics. Supporters say the full-service center will offer affordable, needed women's health services, including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and educational sessions for parents and teens.
What does Naperville think about the clinic opening so close to home?
I am pro-choice. It is the woman's body after all. As long as a woman does not use this for a means of birth control I am for it. I have two daughters and I would support this choice for them whole heartedly. I am not a religious fanatic who thinks "God" will punish them. My God is loving and kind and knows humans make mistakes.
In this day and age, the more personal choices people have the better.
If someone has a problem with it, then simply do not choose it and consider yourself fortunate enough to not ever need all services provided.
I'm pro choice also. I think women should make their own choices and have to LIVE with it forever.
Who am I to tell them what to do.
"What does Naperville think about the clinic opening so close to home?" I think the clinic will offer a great many necessary and helpful services, and it is a shame that anyone entering the clinic for any reason will be judged in some way and assailed with other peoples' opinions. Health concerns are private, and debate is appropriate in courts or in private.
I would absolutely welcome the clinic. I would not welcome the demonstrations and debates which will block the entry of people who need not be judged or misjudged.
While I welcome to the clinic to the area, as I do believe the services are needed, I do have a problem with the clinic backing up to a residential neighborhood, less than half a block from a school bus stop. It should have been located closer to Rush Copley Hospital (there is properly zoned vacant land there) or across New York Street in the business park there.
Wow-I hope no one "chooses" to eliminate me because I'm inconvenient! There are an abundance of families who would love to adopt. Let's stop killing for convenience sake and allow human beings to be adopted and loved.
This is in response to "Anonymous" who states there's an abundance of families who would love to adopt. Then tell me why there are so many thousands of third world orphans who aren't getting adopted.
I am pro-choice.
Thank you Jane for pointing out that there is such an abundance of people in this country that would love to adopt that they look overseas to third world countries to adopt. As to the adoption problems in third world countries--look to the case of the Guatemalan government, which has created so many snafus that they have shut down adoptions from that country(hopefully only temporarily). The problem is not a lack of willing adoptive parents in this country.
I have personally known many couples with fertility problems that have struggled through the adoption process and have turned to foreign adoption as their only recourse. Indeed, my experience is hardly just anecdotal, but verifiable fact. With so many millions of human beings aborted in this country, where is the logic, humanity, and justice in killing for convenience sake? Why kill babies who could be loved by someone else? If we can have adopt a pet(a worthy organization), then it is disgraceful that we do not put more efforts into adopt a human.
The Aurora City Council was given a good deal to think about last night when pro-life speakers outnumbered pro-abortion speakers 79-2 by 10:30 pm, according to an observer. Many important points were raised, including the danger of permitting businesses to start up in such a cloak and dagger manner. The reason this abortion mill was started up in this manner is obvious. What must be considered is the dangerous precedent this sets and the havoc it could play with intelligent city planning. Whatever, the city council decides, an issue like this needs to be debated fully, thoughtfully, and transparently. It is sadly ironic that PP, which calls itself "pro-choice," chose to set up shop in this manner so as to avoid a full, thoughtful, and transparent choice.
Finally, I am not "anonymous."
Pro choice - for what? Strange that this phrase is never complete.
The hideous nature of an abortion - face it, the "fetal blob" is a human baby - is a magnet for protest. This has inevitably led in other communities to a decrease of property values in the immediate vicinity and the community around it. Many people have already stopped shopping at the Dominik's next to the abortion mill because they can't bring themselves to go anwhere near the place except to pray peacefully.
See, there is common ground between those who can't agree on what's right or wrong, between truth and lies.
I spent 5 years working with women in crisis pregnancy situations. None of these women ever regretted having their child. Many, many women regret their abortions. Numerous post-abortive women have described their experiences to me. After hearing their stories about the ugly and distasteful abortion procedure, after witnessing their suffering as they agonize over the child lost to them, after seeing them struggle to forgive themselves and contemplate suicide, after all of this, i would not wish an abortion on my worst enemy. I do not judge these women (and, the ones i know do not feel judged by me, as best evidenced by one post-abortive woman who asked me to be the godmother of her son), but my heart does break for them. I am against Planned Parenthood in my community because I worry about the babies that will lose their lives and the women who will be permanently injured.
Articles in the newspapers and Aurora having a City Council meeting over this proposed facility seem to belie the commenttary or notion that the building of this facility is cloak and dagger. The facility is probably very needed in this area and to just term it an abortion mill is pretty subjective and unfair. Sexually transmitted diseases and birth planning are also among many important activities of Planned Parenthood.
Adoption.org advises there are more than 100,000 children in the United States alone in foster care waiting for permanent families. There are hundreds of thousands in the world, often in appalling conditions, awaiting adoption. For anyone to say there aren't enough adoptable children in the world is just plain ludicrous.
Most of the country consistently polls as pro-choice despite the tactics of the anti-choice crowd. For those who are anti-choice, perhaps they should stay away from Planned Parenthood, which respects the right of choice.
Finally, why would a poster who chooses to use the post name of "Anonymous" state he or she is not anonymous.
No one has the right to do wrong - regardless of what the law allows, abortion is the killing of an innocent baby and the exploitation of a woman in need. It is well documented that many, if not most women come to regret their decision to abort. Abortion is a permanent decision to a temporary problem - the timing of a pregnancy. We are not helping women by making it easier for them to kill their babies and a piece of themselves. BTW - the reporting on this is so biased it makes me sick. In fact, women of Naperville can already conveniently abort in nearby Woodridge.
I am in complete agreement that a woman should have a great deal of say over what happens with her own body. When it comes to the body of another, however, society must ensure the safety of those who cannot speak for themselves. Once a woman becomes pregnant, we are dealing with two distinct human beings. We have become a society which "values" life only when it is convenient. And this attitude permeates all areas of our lives. When killing our unborn is acceptable, then so too is gun violence, war, euthanasia, suicide, and any number of other methods of ending life on our own terms. Women are being devastated by the practice of abortion and we need to start protecting everyone involved: the babies, the moms, the dads, the health care workers who day after day engage in behavior that has nothing to do with health and everything to do with death. What has always perplexed me is why we act as if pregnancy is inevitable or something that "victimizes" women. It's not that hard not to conceive; don't have sex. It's not that hard not to contract a sexually transmitted disease; don't have sex. It's such a simple solution. Building a huge facility to provide birth control and abortions treats women as if they have no self control. People will rise to your expectations of them. Let's expect more of ourselves as a society so that we can stop our littlest citizens from having to pay the price for our behavior.
What happened to the insightful comment by Adam? Why was it removed? More bias toward pro-choice?
Let's examine certain assertions made here in light of cold hard facts.
First, according to an article authored by Andre Salles and published in the Beacon News yesterday, the City of Aurora hired a law firm to examine its approval process to investigate whether wrongdoing occurred. A city spokesperson was quoted as admitting that such an investigation was "a rare occurrence." This comes after PP used an alias--"Gemini Development Center"--and it failed to disclose the specific use for the property until seven or eight months after it had gone through the planning process in November, 2006. These are all facts reported by the Beacon News. I think "cloak and dagger" was a pretty generous desciption. Others are using terms such as fraudulant and deceptive, and they may well turn out to be right. Either way, The City of Aurora will hopefully reconsider its planning process for the sake of better urban planning and public policy.
Second, abortions will be performed at the facility. Please show me where anyone from PP is denying that fact. Furthermore, to claim that there is a need for more health services in this area is a smoke screen and an obvious one. If the PP facility is simply about STD treatment and prevention, then let it be limited to those functions, then everyone will be happy. Does anyone seriously think PP will agree to this limitation? No, and the reason is that the STD line is a smoke screen. To call this facility an abortion mill is to speak the truth, without disingenuous doublespeak.
Third, from the very website quoted to me by a poster comes the following facts: The demand for infants to adopt has grown so significantly that it exceeds the number of children available for adoption and this trend has accelerated with each passing decade. According to an estimate from the same website, there are 3.3 adoption seekers for every actual adoption.
Thus, it is a demonstrated fact that there are many more people who would love to adopt these aborted babies. Facts are not "plainly ludicrous."
While it is true that a number of foster children await adoption, foster children are not babies. I know because I have worked in this field. Unfortunately people would rather adopt babies than abused and neglected older children. Still, bringing in statistics about foster children seriously conflates the issue. No one is talking about aborting foster children--PP wants to abort babies. Moreover, can anyone here seriously hold the position that it is better to abort than to adopt? I mean really?
In addition to adoption as an option other than death for the inconvenient, one of the other posters here mentioned working in a crisis center and her personal experiences with the pain suffered by women who abort. The option of a crisis center and services to help new mothers is also clearly better than death. This poster's experience is certainly entitled to more weight than those based on misstatements of fact.
That there are children awaiting adoption in other countries is agreeably sad. Why does this justify killing US babies? By that logic, no one should be permitted to have a child in this country until all of thw world's children are adopted by Americans. Do those other countries have no responsibilty at all for their own children?
In any event, the fact that Americans in large numbers turn to the adoption of foreign babies because of the lack of available babies here proves the above demonstrated fact that there are an abundance of couples looking to adopt. We should adopt, not kill. Does anyone seriously maintain the opposite?
The same polls quoted to me by a poster clearly show that a majority of Americans think abortion is wrong. Yet another poster notes the unwillingness of the pro-abortion crowd to explicitly say what they are pro-choice about. I am against murder, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, theft, bribery, domestic battery, child pornography, illegal possession of weapons and narcotics, corruption, child abuse and neglect, treason, and a number of other offenses. I hope people who are pro-choice are also against those things. That means those people actually do not support a person's choice to do absolutely whatever he or she wants. That in turn means they are pro-abortion, which most people think is wrong. Instead of being in favor of killing the inconvenient, I offer you a society where every life is sacred and welcomed and loved. Since most of us know this is the right thing to do, let's all work together to make it happen.
Finally, for those who are confused, let me set the record straight. The name of the poster occurs underneath the line which comes underneath the poster's comment. My initials appear in this location after every one of my posts. "Anonymous" is a pro-abortion poster and I find it hard to believe that anyone would confuse my position with that one. Please carefully read the posts before falsely accusing me of posting as "Anonymous."
As a woman and a mother of 3 daughters, I am writing in support of the pro-life committee. A baby is made from the moment of conception and I pray for anyone who thinks it's a "choice" or a "mistake". From what I have read the PP people have been deceptive from the beginning trying to sneak into the neighborhood.That alone should be reason for stopping them from opening. I will be praying for that to happen.
Abortion is the penultimate human rights issue. Some people claim abortion falls under a right to privacy. That's nonsense. The right to life is the mother of all human rights. A person only has a right to privacy first because of the right to life. At the point of conception, the baby's right to life trumps its mother's right to privacy. Let's save some lives and stop the holocaust on its way to Aurora.
How about working on and solving the social problems that make people actually feel they need to make that choice. Do that, and there is no more supply/demand need for that end of the business.
Berating those that are thinking about choosing it certainly does not help because in many cases that type of behavior towards them is what leads them down the path of that choice in the first place.
The darker side that no one will mention is that a lot of people stand to lose a lot of money if the adoption supply dries up; everything from a multitude of 'fees' to tax credits. Unfortunately, that puts a tarnish on the truly kind hearted people who just want to help others in need.
For everyone vehemently claiming how wrong any killing is, I certainly hope you are out in every Anti-War and Anti-Capital Punishment rally there is and being as vocal about that instead of selectively overlooking some killing for human beings who are actually viable.
Hay JW....You need to get a life...Or become the editor of a southside newspaper...
Yes I post as Anonymous, but I am not the only one. (And not all anonymous postings on these message boards are mine. I believe there are more than 10 people posting under the term anonymous.)I am also not pro-abortion. When I say that the services are needed, I am talking about the family planning services and health screenings that PP can provide to the low income women in the Aurora area.
I do not believe that abortion should be used as a form of birth control. Especially since so many effective forms are readily available. PP would make some of these forms more easily available to some of these women. Others are easily picked up in the local pharmacy.
That being said, I believe that if a woman is raped, becomes pregnant and is in a delicate emotional state, that she should be allowed to obtain an abortion after counseling. If my own daughter was in that situation, I would support her if she chose an abortion.
If a woman is pregnant and has been told that there is a high likelihood that she will not survive the pregnancy, I believe she should have the choice of abortion available to her. Had I become pregnant after my two children were born and been told there was a good chance I would not survive the pregnancy, I might have chosen abortion. Would I have felt bad at times about it? Yes. But when I weigh that with the possibility of leaving my two kids without a mother, I think I would have been able to live with the choice.
Joe posted
"How about working on and solving the social problems that make people actually feel they need to make that choice. Do that, and there is no more supply/demand need for that end of the business.
Berating those that are thinking about choosing it certainly does not help because in many cases that type of behavior towards them is what leads them down the path of that choice in the first place."
Way to go Joe! I totally agree. I truly believe that is the answer to this issue.
I also believe before we use adoption as the answer to an unwanted pregnancy, people looking to adopt need to broaden their search to include older children. There are so many children looking for families. I know families who have adopted older children through foreign adoptions, yet refuse to look locally. I don't understand that.
And Yes, I myself am working on this.I serve as a mentor for a couple of foster children. This was my way of helping since we did not feel we could take a child into our home at this time. However, we may sometime in the future.
It's just wrong. No amount of debate or rationalizing will ever change that. They can make the building as beautiful and shiny as they want, but the ugliness occurring inside will never be right. It will only hurt all of us; like it or not! I know my stomach always turns over when I drive by the abortion mill in Glen Ellyn, as it should. Abortion needs to end.
Steph, no one is trying to change anyone's mind about how you feel about it. You feel the way you do, and that's fine. Obviously it's a place not for you. It may, however unfortunately, be a place for others who feel they need the services. How fortunate some are to never have to ever cross that bridge or ever give it consideration.
If one's stomach turns when driving by such a place, perhaps a different route would be in order. It would be unfortunate to have known predictable abdominal discomfort break one's concentration while driving and possibly be a factor in an accident that would have the potential for fatalities.
Joe, I don't think this issue is funny. Why do you assume I've never crossed this bridge or faced this decision? If I have or haven't doesn't change the wrongness of abortion. It's not about how I feel or how anyone else feels. There are absolutes and abortion is absolutely wrong, now matter how anyone feels! Everything is not relative, as we are encouraged to believe by our culture of death.
Thanks for responding, keep searching for the truth.
I just wanted to respond to some of the comments by "Anonymous." Some of the other comments posted here sadly are pretty irrelevant.
Thank you "Anonymous" for clarifying your position. First, I wanted to express my gratitude for the work of "Anonymous" with foster children. Having worked on these children's cases myself, any help that anyone can give these children is a blessing.
Second, I think there is a lot more common ground between us than you may even realize. Your position is consistent with the precept that no killing should be permitted unless it is justified. This precept has underlied the law of most civilizations for millenia. This is the Pro-life position and it is a comprehensive, consistent defense of life against utilitarian or other arguments that leave the Right to Life(the first right listed in the Declaration of Independence and the Due Process clause of the US Constitution) as little more than a catch-phrase.
You are against abortion as birth control, and you should know that 93-98% of all abortions are performed for this reason. Thus, you and I agree that 93-98% of abortions are wrong. That's some common ground.
Let's talk about the two hard cases you raise. Abortions because of rape or incest make up less than 0.5% of all abortions. In such a case, if I knew the victim, I gently would attempt to persuade her based on moral/ethical principles to give birth to the child. I know this would be asking a lot, but who deserves to be punished for the evil actions of the perpetrator, the perp., right? Why should an innocent human life be exterminated because of the evil actions of someone else? This victim should receive all the counselling, treatment, and services she needs, and if the perp. cannot pay for them, then raise my taxes to make sure this victim gets everything she needs. Let this child go to an adoptive home where he or she will be loved. Don't visit the sins of the father on an innocent baby.
The second case you raise is also difficult, but I would still gently attempt to persuade a mother in such a situation to save the life of her baby. We parents are sometimes called to sacrifice even our lives for the sake of our children. It is a parent's sacred duty. We do this in small ways when we work ourselves to death to support them and give them a bright future. I submit that a person who would be unwilling to sacrifice themselves for their children should consider not becoming a parent. I've seen too many such parents abuse and neglect their children. I understand the notion of living for one's surviving children, but who's to say that you might not die shortly afterward regardless of your decision to abort? Wouldn't it be better to give your children the ultimate example of your love? Could you preach to them any better than that?
As for working on the social problems that lead to abortion, please show me where you and I disagree about that. I am open to any constructive suggestions that would prevent killing human life because it is inconvenient. Again, I think there is more common ground here than you realize.
Lastly, respectfully, I submit that your comment about berating women in the context of this particular blog and of this particular abortion mill is baseless. Please read the post by Christy discussing her pro-life response to women in crisis. The only evidence of "berating," actually worse, comes from the pro-abortion individuals arrested at Fort Abortion. The first person to resort to violence is the first person to run out of ideas.
JW,
The beration of women is a tactic used by some in their 'protest methods'. If you google for it I am certain you can find many instances along with some bombings and even the killing of an off duty police officer in Alabama at a clinic that was bombed in the past. Further, one can also find sites that call for the murder of certain doctors and clinic workers, hypocrisies not withstanding.
If one is not allowed to reference such actions of the past and must keep them in the context of the article and blog, then one can not mention abortions because the clinic in question had not performed any.
There is the frame of reference, and I hope this clarifies it for you.
To clarify my position further, I would rather abortions not be performed as birth control, yes that is true.
However, I feel that women do need to make their own decisions in the matter. Until we are standing in their shoes, we cannot know what all has gone into making those decisions. So while I know what decisions I might make in certain instances, I believe that every woman needs the opportunity to make her own decision too.
Rape is an extremely emotional issue, one that is very difficult for someone to get over. Having had a friend who was date raped in college (and we went to a Christian college!), I can attest to this fact. After 20 years, she still has issues arise over it. Having gone through that situation with her at the time, I truly believe that had she had to deal with nine months of pregnancy too, her recovery would have been excruciating. Nine months of carrying a baby that was forced upon her would have meant nine months before the true healing could have begun. Luckily, she didn't have to deal with that. So I strongly believe that this is an option that needs to be available.
As far as my comments on berating others, while I do believe this specific message board has been pretty calm, if you check some of the others on the blogs here, there have been some pretty nasty comments made back and forth. Especially if you check the "how accessible should abortion be" blog on the Beacon site.
So far the protests at this PP site have been pretty calm. I have no problem with people standing and praying together. I hope that the protests will stay calm and continue in this manner once the clinic opens. I think the local protesters here seem to have their heads on straight as far as how to behave and act. I do fear that things could change once the clinic opens and women begin to utilize its services. Hopefully the protesters will continue to pray calmly. I do fear that more people will come from out of state, people from some of the more radical acting groups, that will turn the protests into something ugly. Let's hope that doesn't happen.
What the big debate here? Why do people keep saying that PP should have provided more info on the fact they were going to do abortions in the preliminary stage? IT'S LEGAL TO DO THEM PEOPLE. It shouldn't EVEN be up for debate any more than any other legal service offered in this area. Why should PP be put thru any more scrutiny that any other vendor? And obviously a main reason they kept it quiet was the sometimes dangerous pro-lifers that have killed people in abortion clinics in their "quest" to stop the killing (irony at its best). You may be against the practice...but so far, the laws have not been changed back to the stone age..so knock off the righteous crap. Its about time "forward thinking" Naperville offer an important service to those who are desperate or in need. No one is "pro abortion" but some of us feel one shouldnt have to go thru nine months of pregnancy to learn their lesson either. And "as if" giving up your child once its here..is EASY..yeah ok. Very simple...no citizen should have a say as to whether a legal business can open anyway. I dont like the fact I have to stop smoking in ALL bars in town as of Jan either...smokers get NO options now...but I'm not gonna kill anyone over it.
New to the board, this topic is old, so no one will ever see this, but my question is WHY is this post listed under the FAITH side link when clearly it should be listed under HEALTH?
PP is a HEALTH clinic for women. I do believe that should be the topic at hand here, but as you have listed it under FAITH in order to stir the pot, clearly The Sun has its own agenda.
Planned Parenthood, while it gets its crazy media attention because of one hot-button issue, is number ONE a means for women of all social and economic backgrounds to maintain their personal health in an affordable way. Many women's lives have been saved by their cervical cancer screenings alone. It's a shame people can't see beyond the hysteria to understand this.
Turning it into a faith issue alone is insulting and false to all of the women whose health has benefited from,and lives saved because of its services. Please reconsider your tagging.
Note from host:
Duly noted. Moving to Health now.
The time to make the choice is the time the woman chooses to have sexual relations. Abstinence works!
But if that's not good enough for you and waiting for marriage is for "squares," then take advantage of the many other ways that you can avoid pregnancy. You can get contraceptives at any grocery store or drug store. You can order online even! You can also go to a doctor and get a prescription for pills, fitted with an IUD, or even get shots. In 2008, there is no excuse for abortion.
Except of course for the fact that abortion is a business. You think the abortionists are doing this to advance women's causes or to make a political statement??? No, they're in it for the money. If the cause is so noble, then why not inject the preborn with poison to burn them, suck them out with a vacuum, or stab the half born child in the back of the head to drain the brains out for FREE! If having abortion accessible is so important????? No, you're making money by KILLING SOMEONE! Abortion is not just a little "snip, snip now we're done" type thing. Ever see an abortion via ultrasound?? Ever see the preborn try to escape from the vacuum? It's pretty freaking sick. WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR BABY IN A CRIB? And you call us Conservatives Nazis! This is the holocaust of my generation.