Friday, December 05, 2008

Planned Parenthood of Indiana Hit By Undercover Video

A 20-year-old UCLA student posed as a pregnant 13-year-old visiting a planned parenthood clinic in Bloomington. The counselor, upon learning her age and learning the man who allegedly impregnated her was much older, began advising the girl how she should go out of state for an abortion and avoid reporting it as child abuse to CPS (i.e., statutory rape). "I don't want to know what his age is," the female counselor told the girl; otherwise, she would be legally obliged to report it to the state. She also explained to her she could not obtain an abortion in Indiana because of her age without the consent of a parent. This video is making it around the Internet and FOX News' Bill O'Reilly ran a segment on it last night. The female counselor in this case broke no law in this instance because the girl in question was actually 20, but it does raise questions of how often this occurs in real life.

A recent decision by Planned Parenthood of Indiana to offer gift certificates to its clinics during the holiday season sparked some controversy. Christians who oppose abortion find the effort offensive and see it as a way of pressuring family members who are pregnant to get an abortion.

4 comments:

legalmind said...

I must disagree with the opinion that no crime has been committed. Indiana law creates a duty to report when, " ...an individual has reason to believe a child is a victim of abuse or neglect...." 31-33-5-1. Clearly the nurse had reason to believe that a child had been abused and therfore had a duty to report the abuse. Failure to report suspected child abuse or neglect is a class B misdemeanor. In addition if the facts were as the nurse believed a child would have been the victim of sexual abuse, therefore the nurse's conduct would be, pursuant to Indiana law an attempt
to violate the duty to report, which would also be a class B misdemeanor.35-41-5-1.
Other questions also need to be explored. Did she make false statements in medical records? Were the false medical records used to obtain payment from insurance or a govenment program? This is clearly not an isolated incident on the part of the nurse. At the very least a grand jury should examine the records of all child patients she delt with in order to (1) determine how many other cases of molestation she covered up and (2) provide the protection to these child victims that our reporting statute seeks to provide. It is also clear that her license to practice the profession of nursing in Inaiana must be revoked

Gary R. Welsh said...

You're probably right if the government had been the one who captured the counselor on tape as part of a sting operation.

Indy4U2C said...

It has been my own long-belief that the behavior documented is the true custom, policy & practice of Planned Parenthood.

I wish the investigation were more comprehensive...and certain that a comprehensive investigation would prove this is a corrupt business.

lunar366 said...

My concern is about the previous or ongoing attempt to catch someone not reporting abuse to the authorities. Those attempts by these groups that do result in reports to the proper authorities is equivalent to filing a false police report, and all that have done so should be prosecuted.