Well, whaddya know. Yesterday a State's Attorney in Illinois declared that, guess what, Planned Parenthood's permit for their Aurora clinic was perfectly legal.

After abortion opponents and some members of the Aurora City Council accused Planned Parenthood of committing fraud against the city by applying for permits under the name of Gemini, a subsidiary, Aurora hired municipal attorneys Richard Martens and Phillip Luetkehans to review the permit application process. Both attorneys found no grounds to deny Planned Parenthood an occupancy permit.

The city then asked Kane County State's Atty. John Barsanti to review the investigative materials. On Monday, Barsanti announced his review was completed and no crimes had been committed.

Quel surprise: Planned Parenthood makes sure all its i's are dotted and all its t's are crossed when they build a new clinic.

"Knowing the tactics of our extremist opponents, we chose to take a low-visibility approach in building our health center in Aurora. At the same time, we took great measures to ensure that we did everything legally and truthfully," said (Steve) Trombley, (the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area).[/quote[
Of course, the anti-abortion folks are complaining about it:
Ald. Rick Lawrence, an outspoken critic of the clinic, said he believes the full City Council should have been given a chance to vote on the clinic.

"Either way this thing is going to go, it should have been decided by the elected officials, not just one of them," said Lawrence, who was outside City Hall with the abortion protesters. "We're going to have to look into [options] as aldermen."

Sorry, buddy, that's the way the law works: you make a stink, it goes before a judge, and the judge--yes, just one--makes his decision. Sorry your grapes are sour.

It seems that the antis aren't likely to have much luck, though obviously they intend to keep trying to figure out how to deny suburban Chicagoans complete--and legal--reproductive health care.

"It won't be over until Planned Parenthood leaves Aurora," said Eric Scheidler, a spokesman for the Pro-Life Action League. . . . Scheidler said his group planned to file another lawsuit in DuPage County on Tuesday claiming that because Planned Parenthood is a not-for-profit, it required a special-use permit that would have required a public hearing and notification of nearby property owners.

One attorney's reviews already dismissed that argument.

Meanwhile, there are women who have appointments at the clinic tomorrow. Guess they don't agree with the protesters who think that Planned Parenthood is "bad for Aurora."

More details are available at the Planned Parenthood Aurora blog, which posted this statement by Trombley earlier today:

My friends, we stand before you this morning in front of Planned Parenthoods new health center that is now open to serve the women and families of this community.

Make no mistake it took a lot for this to happen.

But it was worth it.

Some say this fight is just about abortion. But for Planned Parenthood this fight was about providing a broad range of much-needed health care services to the people in this community.

This fight was about providing life-saving services as pap tests to screen for cervical cancer.

This fight was about providing exams to detect breast cancer and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

This fight was about providing services some take for granted but that many dont have access to because they are either not available or unaffordable.

And yes, this fight was about providing access to abortion services but we know that the preventative services offered by Planned Parenthood do more to prevent the need for abortion than our opponents will do in a lifetime of protesting.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been instrumental in making sure this facility opened.

I want to thank our board of directors for having the courage to take this project on.

I want to thank our architects and contractors for working with us to build this facility.

I want to thank our staff for their dedication, their courage and their flexibility during this difficult month.

And, most importantly, I want to thank the hundreds of supporters from Aurora and the surrounding community that have welcomed us, fought with us and now are a part of this health center and its mission.

Nearly 850 communities across America have welcomed Planned Parenthood because they know we give women an accessible place to go for quality, affordable health care. In fact, nearly 1 in 4 women in America have visited Planned Parenthood. We have been serving the Chicago area for more than 60 years, and we are now thrilled to call Aurora our new home.

One in four women in America. Thank god for Planned Parenthood.

Bitch_PhD went to Planned Parenthood for her first birth control prescription when she was just 17. It was the beginning of a long and healthy sex life free of unwanted pregnancies, and she is duly grateful. She wishes the same to all the women in Aurora who will use Planned Parenthood's services in the coming years.

Synthiviper

Chicago, IL

June 2004

OCT 02, 2007 04:14 PM

I've been watching this closely, and I'm so happy to hear the good news!

_Jordan_

San Diego, CA

February 2007

OCT 02, 2007 04:41 PM

I'm not a woman, but I also thank god for Planned Parenthood.

WADO

Brooklyn, NY

March 2006

OCT 02, 2007 04:45 PM

Holy shit, reason and rationality won!? That's so cool. The number of stupid people protesting and fighting this is still just fucking absurd.

I wonder how many of them have ever spoken to a woman who had a back-alley abortion before Roe v. Wade, because there is nothing like hearing that shit to erase any argument you ever had against any kind of family planning.

Valeyard

Shreveport, LA

January 2005

OCT 02, 2007 04:46 PM

Glad to see the protestors didn't get their way this time. It's about time we had a victory like this in the courts. For too long christian fundamentalists have been winning the overturning cases and pulling off re-zoning laws. I'm glad a judge finally had the guts to say, "shut the fuck up, a woman's rights are NOT illegal or morally wrong!" Of course it's not just about woman's rights it's about affordable services for woman's health, and the christian right looks like so much shit right now for protesting these services that have the potential to save many woman from suffering from cancer and std's that are preventable with early detection. Oh wait I'm sorry, they think cancer is god's judgement for taking the lives of the unborn...seriously fucked up huh? I kid you not such was often the point of a sermon back when I was an impressionable youth. No wonder I seriously hate on bigots like them now.

flabajaba2213

Plymouth, MA

July 2006

OCT 02, 2007 04:49 PM

I wonder how long it will take before one of these judges gets angry for a clearly bullshit lawsuit.

Tallboy66

Chicago, IL

January 2005

OCT 02, 2007 04:53 PM

"It won't be over until Planned Parenthood leaves Aurora," said Eric Scheidler, a spokesman for the Pro-Life Action League

Or it could be over when some protester attacks a woman and the right to lifers look even more stupider.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

CherryCoke

Derry, NH

May 2007

OCT 02, 2007 04:58 PM

I'm very glad to hear that they got to stay.
Planned Parenthood is an awesome place. I've had to use it twice. Once because I didn't want to explain to my father that I was sexually active and wanted to get checked out. Then another time because I didn't want to explain to my dad why I wanted to go on birthcontrol.
It's nice to know that other girls in Aurora will be able to have the same care and understanding that I received.

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

OCT 02, 2007 05:00 PM

Gotta love when the system works. Kudos, Bitch_PhD, for keeping us up to date on the situation.

-TM

Valeyard

Shreveport, LA

January 2005

OCT 02, 2007 05:12 PM

thefreak said:
Gotta love when the system works. Kudos, Bitch_PhD, for keeping us up to date on the situation.

-TM

Seriously cool, Bitch_PHD is one of the reasons why I come HERE to SG for my news first. I lead a busy day and to have articles here that keep me up-to-date on some of the more important news is truly a wonderful thing.

fluxuation

Ottawa, ON

April 2005

OCT 02, 2007 05:19 PM

Abortions for some, miniature american flags for others.

Bonaparte

Eugene, OR

September 2006

OCT 02, 2007 05:29 PM

fluxuation said:
Abortions for some, miniature american flags for others.

ooooh, kodos and kang.

but seriously, im so excited!! for once it doesnt seem like reproductive rights are being smashed at every possible opportunity!

dvlgrl

Monrovia, CA

May 2005

OCT 02, 2007 05:35 PM

One in four women in America. Thank god for Planned Parenthood.

indeed

Gringo

Spokane, WA

May 2006

OCT 02, 2007 05:53 PM

fluxuation said:
Abortions for some, miniature american flags for others.

And miniature American flags are just about fetus-sized.

Oh shit, I just got a really horrible horderve visual. Not good.

phasers2rock

Owasso, OK

July 2005

OCT 02, 2007 05:55 PM

My now husband and I went to Planned Parenthood when I first found out I was pregnant. And they were the nicest, most helpful, most... understanding people. I expected much less since I live in Oklahoma. And now I'll stop being a Planned Parenthood ad.

Yay Aurora!

l0vetrain

Portland, OR

April 2007

OCT 02, 2007 05:58 PM

Planned Parenthood isn't just about abortion. It's easy access to good care and inexpensive. Imagine what would happen to all these girls if it weren't around.
Not getting proper health care hurts women.

drewyoon

Los Angeles, CA

August 2006

OCT 02, 2007 06:08 PM

bravissimo