Sep 18, 2007 / 08:52 am
U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle ruled on Wednesday that Planned Parenthood cannot open a newly constructed abortion clinic in Aurora, Illinois until he reaches a decision about allegations that the abortion provider’s developer lied on applications for a building permit. Judge Norgle wants attorneys for both Planned Parenthood and the city of Aurora to come back on Thursday and present more information.
The city of Aurora has brought a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood because their developer, Gemini Office Development obtained a building permit for the new abortion clinic under the pretense that it was an office building and falsely listed a building operator that was not Planned Parenthood.
The truth about the purpose of the building came to light when a pro-life construction worker on the 22,000-square-foot site became suspicious of the bulletproof glass and surgical suites.
On the weekend of August 27-28, pro-life advocates assembled over 1,000 people to protest the clandestine abortion facility’s construction. For more on this story click here. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=10308
Since then, the city of Aurora has hired an outside attorney to investigate and has said that it will not issue a permanent occupancy permit until the probe has been completed. Planned Parenthood subsequently took the city to court asking Judge Norgle to allow it to open today.
At an hourlong hearing on Monday, Norgle refused to grant Planned Parenthood's request for an injunction to prevent city officials from closing it down should it try to open its doors.
Norgle mention that if the city completes its probe and allows Planned Parenthood to open that it can begin doing abortions.
After Monday’s hearing, Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League announced that, "Planned Parenthood will NOT be opening their doors tomorrow," and that “this is exactly what we've been praying for these past 40 days."
The pro-life activist also said, “We trust that the judge will allow Aurora to fully investigate how Planned Parenthood tried to come into town without disclosing who they were and their plans to perform abortions. Planned Parenthood had 13 appointments scheduled for Tuesday's opening. If God's answer spared 13 innocent lives, then we give the Lord the praise for the delay and the ultimate permanent closing of this abortion mill."
The next hearing into the matter has been set for Thursday morning.