Nathan Tabor
Planned
Protection For Predators
©2007
Nathan Tabor
Planned
Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion operation, claims to be a
trusted source of health information and medical care for young women.
However, there is mounting evidence that the organization has failed
miserably when it comes to protecting minor girls from sexual predators.
The
latest example of this comes from
Ohio
, where a girl who was sexually abused by her father has filed suit
against Planned Parenthood in
Cincinnati
. The girl says that Planned Parenthood failed to report the abuse she
underwent when her father forced her into having an abortion. Following
the abortion, the abuse continued for more than a year, according to a
report by the Associated Press.
Now,
under
Ohio
law, doctors, nurses, teachers, and others in positions of authority are
required to report claims of abuse to law enforcement. Planned
Parenthood official Becki Brenner was quoted by the Associated Press as
saying that, if the girl had alleged abuse, “We would call and report
as required by law.” This statement indicates that the girl’s case
may boil down to “She said, PP said.” PP is obviously betting that
its support from some public officials and a vast number of media
representatives will help shore up its case.
But
isn’t it ironic that an organization which claims to have the best
interests of women at heart is questioning the credibility of a sexual
abuse victim? Is that really a pro-woman stance?
If
the
Cincinnati
incident were an isolated case, that might be one thing. But the fact
is, there appears to be a pattern of PP failing to report sexual abuse
to authorities. The American Life League, for instance, has documented a
number of cases in which PP did not live up to its responsibility to
report statutory rape. For instance, in 1998, in
Glendale
,
Arizona
, a 12-year-old girl who was raped by a foster brother had an abortion
at PP. But PP never reported the rape to the police. It took another six
months—and another appointment for abortion—before PP alerted
authorities and the predator was arrested and convicted. The girl sued
and a judge determined that PP was negligent for failing to report the
rape. Court records indicate that the girl ultimately reached a
settlement in the case.
Meanwhile,
in 1999, an 11-year-old
California
girl went to a PP facility, saying she had been raped. The victim asked
PP not to inform anyone, including her parents. However, the law clearly
indicates that PP should have reported the rape to the police. In 2005,
a PP website included a letter from the girl praising PP for keeping her
rape a secret. Not only did PP fail to do its civic duty—it actually
had the gall to publicize the fact. According to the American Life
League, the letter was ultimately removed from the site—but the damage
had already been done.
It’s
bad enough that PP actually accepts money to end the lives of tens of
thousands of unborn babies. Now, there are indications that PP has, at
times, been grossly negligent by failing to report allegations of
statutory rape. It’s going to take a great deal of public relations
spin for PP to attempt to redeem itself in this situation.
Nathan
Tabor is a conservative political activist based in Kernersville,
North Carolina. He has his BA in Psychology and his Master’s Degree
in Public Policy. He is a contributing editor at www.theconservativevoice.com.
Contact him at Nathan@nathantabor.com.