Planned Parenthood Seeks Court Order to open clinic on Sept.18

[bliss_eternal]

Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area Seeks Federal Court Order Allowing Aurora Health Center to Open As Scheduled on September 18

Says City’s Actions to Block Opening Motivated by Politics, Not Law


CHICAGO – Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area today asked a federal court to allow its new health center in Aurora to open as scheduled on September 18, saying the City of Aurora has no legal basis for blocking the opening and that its revocation of a temporary operating permit is motivated solely by political opposition to the constitutionally protected right to abortion services.

The request filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago asks the Court to issue an injunction barring the City of Aurora from preventing the scheduled September 18 opening. The City has revoked a temporary occupancy permit issued on August 16 pending completion of a review of the permitting process that won’t likely be completed until after September 18.

“Aurora’s actions … are not related to any legitimate municipal concern, but instead are motivated solely by political opposition to the fact that Planned Parenthood provides abortion services as part of a broad range of health care services for its patients,” the filing states. “Accordingly, Planned Parenthood seeks injunctive relief … to prevent Aurora from continuing to deprive Planned Parenthood’s constitutionally protected right to equal protection under the law.”

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“Patients in the western suburbs of Chicago would have to travel more than 70 miles round trip to obtain services from the nearest Planned Parenthood facility. Many of the patients who have neither the means nor the time for this travel would be effectively denied health care as a result of the City of Aurora’s conduct,” PP/CA argues in its request for the injunction, again citing the Manchester, NH, federal court ruling.

“As the court noted in Manchester, ‘Every day is prevented from occupying its new facility increases the likelihood that abortion or contraception or family planning patients will have to seek alternative care either in hospital settings, at considerable expense, or by traveling to other facilities.’"

Steve Trombley, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area, says many patients already have scheduled Aurora health center visits on September 18.

“Should we tell them that the City Council needs more time to determine whether they should be allowed access to the reproductive health care they need and are entitled to receive?” he asked.





taken from:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/news-articles-press/politics-policy-issues/planned-parenthood-aurora-16783.htm