My RE has two offices. One here in town, which is tiny office, equipped only to do things like consults, regular office visits, blood draws, ultrasounds, and things like that. He has a second office, downtown Chicago, where he does all of his surgeries and advanced procedures. Every woman going through IVF needs to go to that Chicago office twice: once for egg retrieval, once for embryo transfer. There is an empty plot of land in town, near his existing office, and he is building a new office, complete with surgical suites, so that his patients can do all of their fertility-related treatments in one place.
Last month, the city council was scheduled to vote on the project, merely to approve the land use, on unanimous recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission. A small group of conservative Catholics in town showed up at that meeting, opposed to the fertility center on moral grounds, and because of their arguments, the city council postponed the vote until their next meeting.
That meeting was last night. A huge group of patients and supporters showed up, and a large group of opponents showed up as well. I went to the meeting, wore my clerical collar, and put myself on the list to speak. If that weren't nerve-wracking enough, there has been lots of media coverage about the controversy, and so there were news trucks and cameras and journalists all over the place.
It was a long meeting...50 people spoke, taking two and a half hours. The council did vote last night...and the project passed by a 7-2 vote! Congrats, Dr. Morris!!
For what it's worth, here is the statement that I read before the council last night (and I was even mentioned in a Chicago Sun-Times article!):
Last month, the city council was scheduled to vote on the project, merely to approve the land use, on unanimous recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission. A small group of conservative Catholics in town showed up at that meeting, opposed to the fertility center on moral grounds, and because of their arguments, the city council postponed the vote until their next meeting.
That meeting was last night. A huge group of patients and supporters showed up, and a large group of opponents showed up as well. I went to the meeting, wore my clerical collar, and put myself on the list to speak. If that weren't nerve-wracking enough, there has been lots of media coverage about the controversy, and so there were news trucks and cameras and journalists all over the place.
It was a long meeting...50 people spoke, taking two and a half hours. The council did vote last night...and the project passed by a 7-2 vote! Congrats, Dr. Morris!!
For what it's worth, here is the statement that I read before the council last night (and I was even mentioned in a Chicago Sun-Times article!):
Mayor Pradel, members of the city council, and all who are gathered here: I thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening.
My name is Melissa Bills, and I stand before you tonight as many things.
I stand here as a woman who has been married seven years and who has been struggling to conceive for four years. I stand here as a woman who has been pregnant twice, and who has grieved the loss both of those pregnancies. I stand here as a woman for whom IVF is a last grasp at starting a family, and a woman who knows the profound disappointment of a failed IVF cycle.
I stand here as a Christian woman of deep faith. During my journey of infertility, I have prayed for miracles, I have argued with God in grief, and I have looked to God for sustaining hope throughout this struggle to begin a family.
Finally, as you can see from looking at me, I also stand here as a member of the clergy. I am an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and have been faithfully serving St. Timothy Lutheran Church here in Naperville for three years.
I am deeply committed to my faith, and I support the work of Dr. Morris and other doctors like him who help women live out their hopes and dreams to “be fruitful and multiply,” as the Bible puts it. Those who have opposed the proposed fertility center do not speak for all Christians, they do not speak for all Naperville citizens, and they do not speak for me.
Let me be clear: it is not my job tonight to convince you that my faith-bound conscience is of any more value than anyone else’s faith-bound conscience. For it is my own responsibility to make ethical choices in my life based on my faith. And it is the responsibility of my dissenting brothers and sisters to make ethical choices in their lives based on their faith.
But it is your responsibility, members of the council, to take up the issue at hand, which is simply a question of land use. You are not being asked to make a statement about faith or morality. You are being asked to verify that this proposed facility is an appropriate use of land and that the proper steps are being taken to bring it about.
You know as well as I do that this project is good for Naperville. It means new construction, new business, and expanded medical capabilities for the benefit of our community.
I ask you to make your decision tonight with integrity, remembering that the hard work of paperwork and planning has already been done, and that the Planning and Zoning Commission has already unanimously recommended that this project move forward. Your job tonight is to verify and validate their work.
Thank you for all that you do to keep our community moving forward. Thank you in advance for voting in support of the proposed Naperville fertility center. And thank you for your time.
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