In a reversal of a decision made this summer, city officials in Raleigh, North Carolina, last week authorized an antiabortion-rights group to operate out of a building next door to an abortion clinic, the Raleigh News & Observer reports (Specht, Raleigh News & Observer, 11/3).
Background
Your Choice Pregnancy Clinic, a CPC operated by Hand of Hope Pregnancy Centers, purchased a house next door to the abortion clinic, A Preferred Women's Health Center, and sought to have the residential location rezoned for commercial purposes. Hand of Hope already has a location less than one mile from the clinic.
In late April, the West Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council voted in support of the rezoning effort. Later, the Raleigh Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning request.
Lois Turner, owner of A Preferred Women's Health Center, called the rezoning request an "intimidation tactic." According to Turner, if the rezoning request had been granted, the CPC would have "cause[d] disruption and difficulties for not only our business, but for our neighbors as well." Clinic staff said allowing the CPC to move next door could lead to more antiabortion-rights harassment outside the facility.
In July, the Raleigh City Council unanimously rejected the rezoning request. Council member Kay Crowder, who represents the Raleigh area, said rezoning the lot does not align with the city's land use plan for that region. The council did not address concerns about protests at A Preferred Women's Health Center and instead made its decision in context of the city plan.
In August, Hand of Hope filed a lawsuit challenging the decision in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In the lawsuit, Hand of Hope alleged that the city council's decision violated the organization's constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of religion and equal protection, as well as the 2000 Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (Women's Health Policy Report, 8/22).
Latest developments
Raleigh city officials on Tuesday reinterpreted Hand of Hope's classification, negating the need to rezone the property, the News & Observer reports.
Hand of Hope had originally classified itself as a medical facility, which would have required the residential property to be rezoned. However, following the request, city officials said the organization is better described as a "civic organization," which is permitted to operate on residential property.
Travis Crane, an assistant planning director for Raleigh, said Hand of Hope provides pregnancy tests and non-diagnostic ultrasounds. However, he said that "based on the most recent information provided by [Hand of Hope], staff does not believe that the described use is medical in nature."
Further, Crane said volunteers who work at Hand of Hope do not meet the state's definition of counselors. Crane said according to the state, counseling is defined as "the professional practice of counseling and not counseling provided within a religious context performed by non-licensed and non-professional persons as a part of a religious practice."
According to the News & Observer, Hand of Hope will have to ensure the property meets commercial building code standards before it can begin operating out of the space. City officials, rather than council members, will assess whether the property meets those standards, the News & Observer reports.
Tonya Baker Nelson, executive director of Hand of Hope, did not say whether her organization would drop its lawsuit.
Women's health provider mulls appeal
Calla Hales, a spokesperson for A Preferred Women's Health Center, expressed concerns with the city's decision and said her group would evaluate a possible appeal. According to the News & Observer, groups who believe that city staff misclassified Hand of Hope as a civic organization have 30 days to file an "appeal of administration action" with Raleigh's Board of Adjustment.
Hales said, "We, as a women's rights organization and health care provider, are disappointed with the reversal and will appeal it to ensure the safety and privacy of our patients and staffers" (Raleigh News & Observer, 11/3).
