Birmingham Planned Parenthood Sting
11/02/10 18:32
Pro-abortion advocates are always quick to jump on any attempt to regulate abortions claiming violations of constitutional rights. Despite their objections courts have ruled that some restrictions on abortions are okay--parental consent laws for minors being one of the allowed regulations. Planned Parenthood in Birminham apparently decided that the law was only a rough guide and didn't have to be strictly adhered to.
After a sting operation in which a young activist posed as a 14 year-old girl who needed a "secret abortion" because she had gotten pregnant by her 31 year-old boyfriend, a video caught a Planned Parenthood staffer attempting to help her find someone to grant consent. When it became clear there was no one, the staffer told the girl the clinic "sometimes bends the rules." More info on that can be found here.
The video was submitted to state officials and sparked an audit of Planned Parenthood by the State Dept. of Health. The findings were not good:
Planned Parenthood was put on probation for one year and required to come up with a plan to fix the reporting problems within their organization. On probation the clinic is subject to more frequent audits and may lose their license if the reporting problems are not corrected.
I personally think probation was much too lenient. Sadly, there are few restrictions on abortions in this country and clinics that provide the services cannot even abide by those. The parental consent law is in place to protect the minor who could not have any other kind of surgical procedure without their parent's consent (with the exception of emergency medical treatment). If for some reason the minor does not feel she can inform her parents of her decision (such as in the case of sexual absue, etc), there are judicial bypass options that allow that consent to be waived.
What's even more egregious in this story is Planned Parenthood's failure to report suspected sexual abuse. The 13 year-old was likely the victim of a crime and Planned Parenthood had not only a legal, but a moral and ethic duty to report it. Why would Planned Parenthood have a problem reporting suspected cases of sexual abuse? They purport to be looking out for the rights of the minor/woman when they fight for the right to perform abortions on demand. They certainly weren't protecting the rights of this 13 year-old girl.
This is a sad, sad story and I'm afraid it is all too common in abortion clinics across the country. When will people understand that the law is THE LAW and that doesn't mean that it is a rough guideline for you to follow when it's convenient. For too long we have let legislators, Presidents, judges and others twist, bend and break the Constituion of the United States causing the American public to question whether laws actually mean anything anymore. We must get back to the rule of law in this country if we are to continue to be a free society.
After a sting operation in which a young activist posed as a 14 year-old girl who needed a "secret abortion" because she had gotten pregnant by her 31 year-old boyfriend, a video caught a Planned Parenthood staffer attempting to help her find someone to grant consent. When it became clear there was no one, the staffer told the girl the clinic "sometimes bends the rules." More info on that can be found here.
The video was submitted to state officials and sparked an audit of Planned Parenthood by the State Dept. of Health. The findings were not good:
But state health officials found that nine minors, ages 13-15, had received abortions at the Birmingham Planned Parenthood without proper verification of consent since November 2008. They also cited problems with the reporting of suspected sexual abuse. One of the 13-year-olds who received an abortion said she starting having sex at age 12. She was back at the clinic for another abortion four months later.
Planned Parenthood was put on probation for one year and required to come up with a plan to fix the reporting problems within their organization. On probation the clinic is subject to more frequent audits and may lose their license if the reporting problems are not corrected.
I personally think probation was much too lenient. Sadly, there are few restrictions on abortions in this country and clinics that provide the services cannot even abide by those. The parental consent law is in place to protect the minor who could not have any other kind of surgical procedure without their parent's consent (with the exception of emergency medical treatment). If for some reason the minor does not feel she can inform her parents of her decision (such as in the case of sexual absue, etc), there are judicial bypass options that allow that consent to be waived.
What's even more egregious in this story is Planned Parenthood's failure to report suspected sexual abuse. The 13 year-old was likely the victim of a crime and Planned Parenthood had not only a legal, but a moral and ethic duty to report it. Why would Planned Parenthood have a problem reporting suspected cases of sexual abuse? They purport to be looking out for the rights of the minor/woman when they fight for the right to perform abortions on demand. They certainly weren't protecting the rights of this 13 year-old girl.
This is a sad, sad story and I'm afraid it is all too common in abortion clinics across the country. When will people understand that the law is THE LAW and that doesn't mean that it is a rough guideline for you to follow when it's convenient. For too long we have let legislators, Presidents, judges and others twist, bend and break the Constituion of the United States causing the American public to question whether laws actually mean anything anymore. We must get back to the rule of law in this country if we are to continue to be a free society.
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