AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN The owners of Comfort Suites Auburn Hills have been sued by Planned Parenthood after attempting to block the healthcare provider from opening a clinic next door.
Shri Sai-Krishna Group, owners of the hotel, insist that restrictions placed on the adjacent parcel as a condition of the hotel’s purchase agreement prohibit a medical facility from opening there. Planned Parenthood—an organization controversial because of its practice of providing abortions at some of its locations—wants a court to decide whether city ordinances that permit its clinic supersede the private covenant restrictions.
“It is not ordinary for a business to choose the range of business for another,” a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman tells Detroit Free Press.
The covenant being enforced by the hoteliers restricts the land use to restaurant, retail or office. However, Planned Parenthood claims they agreed last year to allow the building to be used for medical purposes.
James Carey, the hoteliers’ pro-bono attorney, says the stigma surrounding Planned Parenthood would be bad for business. “Business owners are very much on edge,” he says.
If Planned Parenthood is allowed to move in, abortions would not be provided at the facility, the organization says.