Special Issue 2008 ACTION NEWS | VOL. XXVII No. 1
This Special Report on the Pro-Life Action League's battle in Aurora, Illinois is divided into seven parts.
The League at Ground Zero
Historic Pro-Life Battle Rages at the "Abortion Fortress" of Aurora, Illinois
A thousand pro-lifers gather for the Sept. 15 Jericho March Finale and pro-life clergy press conference, typical of the outpouring of opposition to Planned Parenthood's massive new facility in Aurora, Illinois [Photo by Jim Johnson]
by Eric Scheidler
For the past year, the Pro-Life Action League has been at the center of the biggest abortion battle to be seen in the United States in years, over a new Planned Parenthood abortuary in Aurora, Illinois. Even the pro-abortion side has called this fight "Ground Zero" in the abortion war. The tremendous media attention we've received along with unprecedented levels of local involvement have given new hope to pro-life activists across the country.
Tip-Off from Pro-Life Contractor
We first learned about Planned Parenthood's new facility in Aurora at the end of June 2007, when we received a tip from a contractor, by way of his parish priest. He had been recruited to work on the 22,000 square-foot project, but refused when he realized that the large number of recovery rooms, surveillance cameras and bulletproof glass could only mean one thing: an abortuary.
After receiving this tip, I visited the construction site on Oakhurst Drive on Aurora's east side, only a few miles from my home on Aurora's near west side. I took photos of the site, including the contractor vehicles and a sign that read "Gemini Medical Office." There was no mention of Planned Parenthood anywhere.
The building presented a puzzle: It was too big to be a typical stand-alone abortion facility, but we know that Planned Parenthood prefers not to be a tenant—they are not welcome by other businesses. But in addition to our tip, we had found an advertisement on Planned Parenthood's website for a "reproductive health assistant" for a center opening in Aurora in Fall 2007—clearly something was going on here.
A July 26, 2007 Aurora Beacon story by Kristen Zambo confirmed the rumors that Planned Parenthood was coming to town [Photo by EJS]
Planned Parenthood Deception Exposed
After this initial investigation, I contacted Karen Nickels, organizer for several years of the pro-life presence at an abortuary on Aurora's west side that had closed in late 2006. Karen was dismayed to think abortion might be returning to Aurora. She got the word out to all the local pro-lifers, which proved to be key in breaking the whole story.
Local pro-lifers barraged Aurora's City Hall with questions and objections about the possibility that Planned Parenthood was coming to town. Local pro-life zoning attorney Vince Tessitore—who had been a sidewalk counselor at Planned Parenthood's downtown Chicago location—acquired all the permit applications related to the property in question through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Planned Parenthood's name appeared nowhere on these documents—only "Gemini Office Development." We smelled a rat.
All this activity drew interest from the press, and on July 26, 2007 the story broke in the Aurora Beacon News that Planned Parenthood was opening a major regional center in Aurora at the Oakhurst site. The next day, a story in the Chicago Tribune filled in the details: the center would open on September 18, and it would be the largest Planned Parenthood medical facility in the nation.
Moreover, the Tribune reported that Planned Parenthood had deliberately kept their plans "under wraps" in order to avoid objections from the pro-life community. Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area CEO Steve Trombley was quoted as saying, "Frankly, I'm surprised we were able to keep it a secret for so long"—words he would live to regret.
League Launches 40-Day Vigil
As soon as we learned that Planned Parenthood was only weeks away from opening their largest abortuary in Aurora, we took action. First, I rented space for a community meeting to be held August 16, and arranged for Jim Sedlak of STOPP Planned Parenthood International to speak. I also decided to launch a round-the-clock Vigil for the 40 days before the scheduled opening of the center. I could see that only prayer on a biblical scale would be adequate to prevent the opening of this nearly-completed abortion center.
- "League Vows To Fight New Planned Parenthood Facility" —League website, 7-27-07
- "40-Day Vigil Launched To Halt "Abortion Fortress" —League website, 8-14-07
I e-mailed several dozen Aurora-area activists and invited them to attend a Vigil planning meeting on August 6. Over 80 people attended the meeting, despite the short notice and having to face torrential rains that evening. This was the first sign of the unprecedented fervor this battle would inspire within the pro-life community of the Aurora area, now under the name Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood.
Our Vigil began August 9 at 8:00 a.m. on the sidewalk on the west side of Oakhurst Drive, facing the back of the Planned Parenthood building. We drew the immediate interest of both the police and the press. Articles on the Vigil were printed in both the Daily Herald and the Aurora Beacon News, and Aurora Police Chief William Powell was on site for the first half hour of the Vigil.
[Go to Part 2][Back to Top]