Criminalizing Planned Parenthood

Michelle Malkin has a piece up on her website about Planned Parenthood and their supposed complicity to cover up sexual abuse. I am stunned by this perspective.

Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides birth control and health services to women. Their mission is to:

• to provide comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of each individual
• to advocate public policies which guarantee these rights and ensure access to such services
• to provide educational programs which enhance understanding of individual and societal implications of human sexuality

Childpredators.com accuses Planned Parenthood of being accessories to sexual predators. They are planning a campaign of litigation to charge those at Planned Parenthood with crimes as well as sue them in civil court—makes you realize how important the judiciary issue is no matter what side of the aisle you are on.

Childpredators.com conducted an undercover investigation from which they have culled a montage of tape recordings of calls to Planned Parenthood Clinics —which I’m sure they did without violating any laws-- in which they claim that Planned Parenthood encourages and instructs on how to subvert the law. They are almost right.

I think most of the responses from Planned Parenthood are actually within the letter of the law. I think most explain that a 13 year old having sex with a 22 year old is statutory rape and that if the girl continues to give them information they will be required to report it to the police. They do explain under which circumstances they will not have to report her.

Childpredator.com sees this as an overwhelming urge to commit abortions and make money. I see it differently.

Planned Parenthood is, many times, the place young women and teens turn when they are having sex and need birth control, when they are pregnant and need health care services –or yes abortions. They also turn there when they need health care services related to sex: sexually transmitted diseases, other kinds of infections and routine GYN checkups.

It’s been a long time, but last I knew, Planned Parenthood used a sliding scale to determine the cost of receiving services--so they provide these services to those who have no insurance and those who could not afford services elsewhere.

It is true that teenage girls and children—in a perfect world—should turn to their parents or their churches for advice and help on the issue of sex. It is also true that many of these girls do not feel as though they can do that. It is also true that some of these girls will have sex no matter what their access to birth control and abortions services.

We have seen in the past girls, who had access to private healthcare and by all accounts had educated and caring parents, carry an unwanted pregnancy to term and them leave the baby to die in a trash can at the prom—so I think everyone should understand that there are some people out there who are going to have sex and get pregnant no matter what you do.

Planned Parenthood is one of the agencies that are able to contribute to the fight against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in providing birth control and information on how to prevent pregnancy and STD’s. Yes, they also provide abortions.

I get that there are many people who think that teenagers should not be having sex. Thinking that is not a method of prevention.

Pretty much any 13 year old who is having sex with a 22 year old or someone older is already living a troubled existence. Odds are they don’t feel like they have anywhere to turn. Planned Parenthood is one of the few places where these girls are going to receive any kind of instruction in how to prevent the next pregnancy and the next case of the STD du jour.

I agree that we should report crimes against children. I also believe there is a delicate balancing act in reaching these girls at all. Listen to the recordings, you can find them here. None of these people sound thrilled about the situation the girl is in. None of them sound like they can’t wait for her to hand over the money so they can perform an abortion.

This new drive to get health care providers to turn over medical records and the names of the girls seeking them is dangerous territory. If places like Planned Parenthood start turning over these records,--these girls will have nowhere to turn when they need help. They will get more diseases. There will be more unwanted pregnancies and more unwanted children.

I don’t think criminalizing Planned Parenthood is the way to go here.

Comments

[Steel]

Oh gawd, abortion is such a stupid waste of time as an issue. I'm sorry but, sex is gong to happen and we do not need anymore unwanted children. The same folks who decry abortion the loudest are the ones who refuse to deal with that demographic in anything remotely approaching a humane and logical manner.

My only gripe about PP is that too many in that organization use it to further a political agenda. They are asking for attention they don't need.

[Chris]

Wow and here I was waiting for you to turn your guns on me Steel. Damn, tomorrow I'll try to write about something you disagree with me on.

[kreb]

The one big missing point is still the fact that they are aidding and abetting crimes against children. I believe it is still against the law to do that. The none reporting allows another and prehaps another young girl to be victimized by the same prep.

[Capitalist Infidel]

Chris

You are so out of touch. Here is a t-shirt that Planned Parenthood sells.

http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/gbase/News/content.html?oid=oid:50877

[Chris]

Cappy--no where on that site does it say planned parenthood sells that tee-shirt or at least if it does I can't find it.

Chris

[Ric James]

Well said. Thanks!

[Chris]

Nevermind--I found it somewhere else--they sell it or sold it and I think that that is awful--what I said about the services they provide remains true--even if they have an idiot who decides to put an assinine slogan on a tee shirt---good god shoot who did that. I have hemoroids--three kids will do that too you--did you want to know that? Do I need a tee-shirt that says that? Geeze--good night!
Chris

[Capitalist Infidel]

At least you gave child molesters a game plan. Make sure you get the little girl pregnant. You'll never be charged because your DNA is protected.

Goodnight.

[Spetiam]

I don’t think criminalizing Planned Parenthood is the way to go here.

I agree. I don't think people should be charged for committing crimes. It's bad for their self esteem.

[Chris]

I said I thought most of them operated within the letter of the law. I told you to listen for yourself. I don't think the issue is as clear as these people make it out to be.

[David]

I listened to the tapes. The PP counselors clearly instructed the girl how to obtain the abortion w/o implicating the statutory rapist and cautioned her that telling the truth of her situation could cause trouble for her 'boyfriend'. Assuming that this group is truthful in their assertion that the caller (this is not against the law, BTW, journalists do this all the time) did not indicate that her parents wouls abuse her, only that they wouls be angry with her 'boyfriend', the majority of counselors were complicit in attempting to evade parental notification and sexual abuse notification laws.

How does this protect underage girls.

Here in Cincinnati, the local PP attempted to conceal the abortion of an underage (13, I think) brought in by her early 20s boyfriend, who authorized the abortion posing as her step-brother. She did tell her parents, who are very supportive of her.

This PP is being sued by the girl's parents and also being investigated for violation for the parental notification law.

The rapist is now in jail, no thanks to PP.

These counselors, PP, and you, MUST know that these predators will move from girl to girl until they are caught.

You, and they, are collaborating with these predators in the sexual abuse of these girls. There is no way around that.