Berman: Abortion debate fires up (Detroit News)

When Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan bought an office building in Auburn Hills late last year, you didn't need psychic powers to predict what would happen next.

Angry protests at City Council meetings. Petition presentations with thousands of signatures. The appearance of an attorney, James Carey, negotiating on behalf of the neighboring Comfort Suites hotel.

And now, a holdup in construction plans, while Planned Parenthood sues to get a judicial ruling on use of the site.

This is a local skirmish in the nation's abortion war, a siege that spans decades, even as it grows more heated and virulent.

From the halls of Congress to a commercial district in Auburn Hills, Planned Parenthood — a nonprofit family planning organization — is targeted by name and reputation.

"Opposition is more fierce than it has been in my 23 years in this field," says Lori Lamerand, CEO of the regional organization.

In Lansing, Right to Life of Michigan is sponsoring a dozen pieces of legislation to crank up Michigan's already restrictive laws. The most unusual — the so-called Dignified Disposition of Human Fetal Remains Act — would require hospitals and clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains after eight weeks' gestation, in the case of abortion or miscarriage.

The latest state budget eliminates any funding for family planning — even though state officials say every dollar spent on it saves $6 in Medicaid and other state funding later on.

Lamerand is fighting to open a sliding-scale fee clinic in the state's second most populous county, where need is high.

The lawsuit seeks a judicial ruling on whether Planned Parenthood can operate a medical office under a restrictive covenant that limits use of the property to "office, restaurant or retail."

Planned Parenthood argues that its proposed use of the facility as a medical office complies with the covenant.

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.

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.

"How many people are going to want to stay in a hotel overlooking an abortion clinic?" asks Rebecca Kiessling, an opponent of the clinic.

"And in a Comfort (Suites) yet. I wouldn't think that would give anyone any comfort."

Sure, it's easy to imagine the discomfort of traveling businesspeople, confronted with protesters in front of a medical clinic.

How strange that the hotel is reaching out to the anti-abortion community for help, the very crowd whose protests will likely be designed to intimidate and disturb their customers.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110628/OPINION03/106280350/Berman--Abortion-debate-fires-up#ixzz1QaA679Hs