Judge Studies Church Plea to Bar 2 Abortion Clinics

A judge today continued a temporary order barring two abortion clinics from opening while he studies arguments of a Roman Catholic bishop who wants the clinics blocked permanently.

The ruling by Judge Harold Hughes of the state Supreme Court, New York’s trial-level tribunal, came after a hearing on the move by Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard to halt the opening of the clinics, in Albany and Hudson.

Hubbard two weeks ago won a temporary restraining order against the openings. The clinics were to be operated at existing Planned Parenthood centers.

State officials said it was the first time a Roman Catholic diocese had gone to court in New York with such a suit. And church officials in Washington said it could be the first such case in the nation.

The initial restraining order came on the same day that state health officials granted approval for the two abortion clinics after a heated public hearing.

Church officials contended the state had not conducted an adequate review of the issue and had failed to justify the need for the clinics. The state argued that the church doesn’t even have a right to be in court and that the state’s approval process was adequate.

Other bishops from across the nation “are very interested in the outcome,” said the Rev. Kenneth Doyle, a spokesman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington. “This is a goal shared by all bishops throughout the country.”