The Planned Parenthood abortion business has given up on its bid to build a new abortion facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, outside of Detroit. The decision comes even as a Michigan court, in January, allowed a local Planned Parenthood to build a new abortion business in the Detroit area despite a restriction on the deed Planned Parenthood obtained for a building prohibiting an abortion clinic.
The restriction was put in place by the owners of the Comfort Inn Hotel located behind the building Planned Parenthood purchased several years ago. In October 2010, attorneys for the abortion business tried to get the owners of the Comfort Inn to agree the building could be used as a “medical office” without mentioning that abortions would be done at the facility. Comfort Inn’s owners balked and Planned Parenthood sued in court.
Oakland County Judge James Alexander ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan’s interpretation of the deed restriction — essentially giving the abortion business the green light to open in Auburn Hills.
However, pro-life blogger Jill Stanek indicates local pro-life advocates say planned Parenthood has officially given up.
Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan has given up on its underhanded attempt to open a 17,050 square foot mega-abortion clinic in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a huge pro-life victory. Moreover, Planned Parenthood is now out at least $1 million and stuck with a boondoggle.
In January 2012 Planned Parenthood won Round 1 in court, but the hotel owners, aided by pro-life attorney Jim Carey, appealed.
But on May 18, 2012, Planned Parenthood unexpectedly dropped its lawsuit and agreed to an airtight deed restriction that bans “clinics providing abortion procedures” from using the building.
The new deed restriction was just made public yesterday, the same day Planned Parenthood offered the property up for lease.
Citizens for a Pro-Life Society speculates the reason Planned Parenthood gave up the fight:
Perhaps to avoid a lengthy appeals court process, PPMSM agreed to a newly-drawn covenant deed restriction…. Entering into such an agreement now frees the pro-abortion group to sell or at least lease out the disputed property – which appears to be exactly what has happened.
Planned Parenthood is now out the $733,151 it paid for the building, the $200,00 grant it lost, and at least $100,000 in legal fees, as speculated by pro-life real estate agent Dave Theisen of Real Estate for Life. It was Theisen who originally discovered the deed restriction.
The decision to not build is a victory for Citizens for a Pro-life Society and other pro-life groups who worked to keep the Planned Parenthood building at 1625 N. Opdyke Road abortion free. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society spearheaded opposition to the opening of the clinic and, for more than a year, the Planned Parenthood property has stood empty and silent while parties on both sides of this dispute battled the case in court.
In December, the state of Michigan withdrew a $200,000 taxpayer-funded grant to Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan. The Michigan Department of Community Health dropped the grant, according to Ed Rivet, Legislative Director for Right to Life of Michigan. The grant was supposed to go towards helping Planned Parenthood furbish its 17,050 sq. ft. abortion facility.
Right to Life also said Lori Lamerand, CEO of Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan, has misrepresented Planned Parenthood’s intent to do abortions in media interviews.
“She claims prolife protesters are twisting the truth when they claim Planned Parenthood is planning on performing abortions at a yet unopened building in Oakland County. Lamerand says Planned Parenthood doesn’t know if a planned facility in Oakland County will perform abortions or not,” RLM says.
Lamerand told the Oakland Press, “We don’t know if we are even going to perform abortions there.”
That’s at odds with her own previous comments.
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RLM notes: “The problem with this statement is Lori Lamerand told pro-abortion Detroit News columnist Laura Berman in June of 2011 that Planned Parenthood was planning on performing abortions at this facility despite protests from the neighboring hotel owners. The article which notes Planned Parenthood’s plans to perform abortions at the Oakland County facility is even posted on Planned Parenthood’s web site.”
That article makes it clear the new abortion business is an abortion business.
“Carey, who took the hotel’s case for free, says the owners hoped they could persuade Planned Parenthood to operate a nonsurgical facility. He has reached out for financial support from those against abortion to wage the court fight,” it said. “But Lamerand is holding firm to a plan to create what the organization delicately calls “a full-service clinic” that would provide reproductive and contraceptive services, including abortion.”
