A court has ruled against an Illinois abortionist who opened an abortion facility in a residential neighborhood as a “home business.”
Abortionist Dennis Christensen (filmed measuring the disarticulated body parts of a second-trimester aborted baby in the documentary “Lake of Fire”) came out of retirement in July of 2022 in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He purchased two buildings in his former city of business, Rockford, Illinois, one of which was a home located within a residential neighborhood.
When Christensen opened RFD Family Planning, there was immediate controversy surrounding the location. Despite efforts to have the opening blocked, the Rockford Zoning Board of Appeals ruled that the facility could be operated as a “home business,” as the previous occupant of the home had been granted a special use permit to work out of the home as a chiropractor. The Thomas More Society then filed a lawsuit and stated in a press release that residents were not happy to have an abortion facility operating in their neighborhood.
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“An abortion clinic in the middle of a residential neighborhood would be a problem under any circumstances,” Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen said. “But it is especially egregious in this situation. This abortionist has already been run out of town previously, having had his facility shut down over 10 years ago by the Illinois Department of Health, because of the risks he posed to the safety and health of area women. The residents of Rockford didn’t want him practicing in their town then and they don’t want him selling abortions in their neighborhood now.”
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After more than two years of litigation, an Illinois appeals court has ruled in the Thomas More Society’s favor, agreeing that the zoning board should not have allowed the facility to operate there, and that Christensen is operating without a legal permit. The chiropractor’s permit, which the zoning board used to justify the location of Christensen’s facility, expired in 1982.
“Looking at the whole record and considering the ‘entire evidence,’ we are left with the ‘definite and firm’ conviction the Board committed a mistake in affirming [Rockford Zoning Officer Scott] Capovilla’s zoning determination,” the court ruled.
Breen praised the ruling in a statement issued in Thomas More Society’s newest press release.
“The Court’s ruling sends a crystal-clear message: zoning laws exist to protect our communities, and they must be enforced fairly and consistently, even when they impact the abortion industry. The Court has exposed the Rockford Zoning Board’s flawed reasoning and upheld the rule of law, ensuring that businesses, even abortion businesses, cannot ignore the laws and may not set up shop wherever they want, including in the middle of quiet family neighborhoods filled with young children.”
While this is a temporary victory, Christensen could still end up being allowed to continue his grisly business; the court said he can request a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing and remain open until then.
