I got me a screen grab too.

And no, I didn't expect anything better of PP. Nor any abortion clinic.

It's the same here in Connecticut:

"Connecticut Abortion Clinics Look The Other Way" by Ted Greenberg. Original article was here, on Foxnews,
http://fox61.trb.com/wtic-052202...oll=wtic-home- 1 , now taken down, but it's been reposted here: http://www.ctfamily.org/ plannedp...parenthood.html

A 10-year-old girl in Bridgeport was raped by an older man, and TWO doctors didn't report it.

The article reports calls made to test how much reporting was done:

"Bridgeport Planned Parenthood: 'If you're 14, and he's 22, that's illegal.' Girl: 'well, what do you mean, what could happen?' Bridgeport Planned Parenthood: 'nothing, if you don't want to press charges, it's just, it's not legal.'

Mind you, they don't run the ab. clinic, they just refer you to the one nearby. I know; they referred me, 26 years ago.
And I'm paying for it every day of my life since then.
Annie B. | Homepage | 12.13.05 - 7:14 am | #

I'm scared to see updates during your sabbatical because I know that it likely means something REALLY bad.

Well...this is REALLY bad. Thanks for making us aware. I'm gonna forward this puppy to my congressman.
John R. | Homepage | 12.13.05 - 8:59 am | #

Minor nitpick, becauae I want a friend to be the first to point this out. . .

She doesn't specifically say she went to Planned Parenthood right after the rape at age 11. It's quite possible that she walked in for the first time at age 14, and in taking the history, they uncovered the rape.

It's still an awful story. A girl is still being exploited. Stunted emotionally and damaged physically.

I don't want anyone to discount your anger just because there's more than one way to read the chronology....
Naomi | 12.13.05 - 8:26 pm | #

Naomi, the girl writes that she was raped at 11, and then writes, "Planned Parethood helped me deal with the aftermath of the rape allowing me to deal and cope as best as I could in my own way."

An "aftermath" refers to what happens immediately after an event. From the context, it is apparent to me that the girl is saying that Planned Parenthood enabled her to survive the rape's immediate aftermath without notifying her parents. It also leaves open the possibility that the organization may have provided her an abortion after the rape

In any case, Planned Parenthood should have reported the rape whenever it learned of it, even if only when the girl was 14. The statute of limitations on rape is longer than three years.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.13.05 - 8:36 pm | #

Actually, if the little girl didn't want to press charges and wouldn't give names, there wasn't anything PP could do. Calling her parents, were they able to get the information, would have just caused the girl to run off without getting the therapy and help that she needed. Yes, it's tragic - but do you help the victim in front of you or do you try to stop more people from being victims? It's got to be a tough choice.

While I don't support 14 year olds having sex in any way, I would say that if they were going to, I'd rather they use protection than be caught up in the "romance" of underage sex and create a child they can't care for. This world has enough babies that need good homes.
Teresa | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 12:28 am | #

Teresa, Planned Parenthood is required by law to report sexual abuse to the authorities. There is a link in my post to California law on the subject. It is reasonable to infer that if the organization had notified the authorities of a forcible rape, the authorities would have notified the girl's parents.

As for your second point, keep in mind that Planned Parenthood's failure to notify authorities means that there is still a rapist on the loose.

In your view, then, a raped 11-year-old girl's right to abort her fetus without her parents' knowledge trumps other potential victims' right to not be raped.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 12:38 am | #

"As of now, the page containing "It Keeps Us Safe" is still up; watch for that to disappear too. When it does, I'll put up a screen grab of it."

The Internet Web Archive has a copy of it saved forever.
Macht | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 2:29 am | #

That is great, Macht! Thanks so much. I'll add the link to the entry. It'll save my Web server some bandwidth from hosting the image on my site.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 2:39 am | #

I understand that it doesn't explicitly say she went to PP at the age of 11, but whether it happened at 11 or 14 that she was raped (and obviously, we know it was 11) it's still illegal.
Emily T | 12.14.05 - 7:57 am | #

I am tired of people thinking that the parents' possible response, e.g., anger, shame, etc., is a good reason to keep the horrible rape crime secret from police and community. I had a strict and abusive father. All I wanted was for the outside grownups to protect me from his anger, and ALSO from the man who harmed me.

As an experienced social worker with a background with abused children and teens, I know that we CAN meet with parents and child together, give child temporary shelter, care for her in her pregnancy, help the family cope, etc. Threats from parents can be taken seriously immediately.

The "shame factor" is another thing. This is something every child and adult has to cope with at some point in our lives. It's often called "consequences of choices we make". If the 11-year-old had been raped by a stranger, you can bet that the parents and cops would have gotten the report. The fact that this unsupervised kid had a 17-year-old "boyfriend" raises the question: "Why didn't she want her parents to know about the 'rape'? Yes, we know all about "Just say NO." Tell the 17-year-old boy, with the precocious "girlfriend".

Incidentally, I wonder if anyone has done a census of girls' first-time sex experiences. I'll bet most of them were with boys who were asked not to "go all the way" during a petting session, but the boys "lost control." The girl went home with bloody panties. Aftermath: "I'm in love, and he loves me, too."...NOT!...

It happened to me, too.
Gretchen | 12.14.05 - 8:39 am | #

"As for your second point, keep in mind that Planned Parenthood's failure to notify authorities means that there is still a rapist on the loose."

What makes you think they would have caught the person if they had called the cops? If the little girl didn't want to talk, all they would have done was traumatize her even more and she wouldn't have helped them anyway.

"In your view, then, a raped 11-year-old girl's right to abort her fetus without her parents' knowledge trumps other potential victims' right to not be raped."

That isn't what I said at all. All I meant was that the right of the 11 year old girl to not have to talk to police if she didn't want to - if she couldn't handle it - shouldn't be taken lightly. No, I don't think it's a good thing that the 17 year old didn't spend some time locked up. I don't think that's good at all. That being said, I'm not sure how the sex offender registry worked 6 years ago. He *was* underage. Seriously, though - is there really ever a *good* way for a rape to work out?

"Teresa, Planned Parenthood is required by law to report sexual abuse to the authorities."

I can't open the link you posted. When was this law started? Remember, this was 6 years ago.

In any case, no - I don't support turning a raped 11 year old over to parents that would have possibly shamed her so bad that she'd never trust her own judgement again. No, I don't support forcing her to recount it and starting her - at 11 - on a path of a trial and whatnot that she obviously doesn't have the self-esteem to deal with.

My main issue with this whole thing is that an 11 year old was dating a 17 year old. There's obviously issues there that we're only scratching the surface on.
Teresa | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 9:22 am | #

"In any case, no - I don't support turning a raped 11 year old over to parents that would have possibly shamed her so bad that she'd never trust her own judgement again."

Wow - Teresa, how would you like it if a total stranger prejudged you as an abusive parent ("would have possibly shamed her")without even knowing you, and pre-decided what is best for your YOUR MINOR CHILD like you just did to these people?

Edited By Siteowner
Darcy | 12.14.05 - 10:22 am | #

Teresa,

If an 11 year old girl tells her teacher or guidance counselor she has been raped, that person MUST - by law - report it to the police. If she goes to a hospital, the hospital MUST - by law - report it.

At this point the system is way past your "main issue" of an 11 year old dating a 17 year old. Your "main issue" is NOT an issue. You are right about the link (required by law) not working, but in most states if you do not report suspected child abuse you may be arrested. And, while you may find this beyond belief, the forcible rape of an 11 year old girl is classified as child abuse in all 50 states. I realize we live in a repressive society, but it's still the law.
Becker | 12.14.05 - 10:27 am | #

"Wow - Teresa, how would you like it if a total stranger prejudged you as an abusive parent ("would have possibly shamed her")without even knowing you, and pre-decided what is best for your YOUR MINOR CHILD like you just did to these people?"

Note the word "possibly" - I didn't say for sure. Who knows? In fact, who even knows that this story is true? That being said, if the child is dating a 17 year old - do the parents really know what's best for her? Either they're unaware or they're seriously misjudging a child's ability to know what's best for themselves. Seriously - think about it.

"If an 11 year old girl tells her teacher or guidance counselor she has been raped, that person MUST - by law - report it to the police. If she goes to a hospital, the hospital MUST - by law - report it."

Do we know that they didn't report it? Just because they didn't tell her parents doesn't mean that they didn't tell the police. The police may just have not been able to get any information from the girl and dropped it. They can't force her to give an account of what happened. What she told a therapist is *not* able to be recounted - by law. Even if it's a therapist at a PP, it's still a doctor.

"Your "main issue" is NOT an issue."

A 11 year old being so needy for attention that she "dates" a 17 year old isn't an issue? No wonder we can't stop abortion in this country. We're so frothing at the mouth about stoping abortion that we don't see that it would be MUCH more effective to try to stop the *reasons* abortions occur.

Despite all I've posted - I'm actually very anti-abortion. I just don't like people who post one-sided arguments without actually thinking about how/why things happend how they did.
Teresa | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 11:06 am | #

Of course they should have called the cops. She was ELEVEN! I still cant get passed the fact that she had a 17 year old boyfriend. How does that work? That 17 year old kid had some problems too.
"In any case, no - I don't support turning a raped 11 year old over to parents that would have possibly shamed her so bad that she'd never trust her own judgement again."
She's freaking 11 years old! Unbelievable.
buzz | 12.14.05 - 11:11 am | #

The sad thing is how the girls are giving it away, so early! The pressure to put out must be unbearable now, just for the status of having a boyfriend, being "loved," through probably a pretty painful sexual encounter. No,don't try to tell me they're all terribly horny and "need" it. I'd bet that if girls really felt like they had control over the situation, they'd much rather put off the sex until much later--if only they could keep the boy's attention as well. But if she won't do it, someone else will.

I'm glad I'm not a kid now. The Sixties were bad enough.
cassandra | 12.14.05 - 11:12 am | #

Actually, if the little girl didn't want to press charges and wouldn't give names, there wasn't anything PP could do. Calling her parents, were they able to get the information, would have just caused the girl to run off without getting the therapy and help that she needed.

Not to jump on the anti-Theresa dogpile, but in the absense of evidence (not just the word of a traumatized 11 y.o.)shouldn't PP default position be that the girl's parents aren't abusive and that they have her best interests at heart. Shouldn't PP also assume that the girl's parents might have a better chance of persuading the girl to press charges? BTW for a minor child, the parents can file a complaint on their behalf.

What makes you think they would have caught the person if they had called the cops?

Since the girl knew her attacker (her boyfriend), I doubt the cops would have had a huge problem catching him, but one thing is for sure; they will never catch him if the crime is not reported.

Note the word "possibly" - I didn't say for sure.

From your replies, abusive does seem to be your default assumption.

That being said, if the child is dating a 17 year old - do the parents really know what's best for her? Either they're unaware or they're seriously misjudging a child's ability to know what's best for themselves.

It's most likely that the parents didn't know, but how does that make them bad parents? When I was 11 y.o. I was doing a lot of things behind my parent's backs. That didn't mean that my parents didn't love me or didn't want the best for me, it just meant that they weren't able to watch me 24/7 and that I was fairly sneaky (unlike my little brother, who never got away with anything).

Do we know that they didn't report it? Just because they didn't tell her parents doesn't mean that they didn't tell the police.

It's sad to see you flailing away like this; if the police had been notified, the parents would have been notified.

A 11 year old being so needy for attention that she "dates" a 17 year old isn't an issue?

Is this the only reason young girls date older boys? Maybe she was flattered that a "man" would pay attention to her that way. Maybe she didn't relate to boys her own age. Heck, maybe he had a cool car. Again, your default position is that we have lousy parents.

Despite all I've posted - I'm actually very anti-abortion.

For someone "very antiabortion", you seem very trusting of PP.
ucfengr | 12.14.05 - 11:56 am | #

Here, let me be judgemental:

I was raped at 11, by my 17 year old boyfriend (what kind of f'ed up parents let this situation exist, 11 and 17). I chose not to tell my parents because I didn't think their involvement would help, that was the right choice for me (cause I was an 11 year old and was fully capable of making such decisions, weighing the issues, understanding the consequences and I talked it over with my Bratz Dolls too). Planned Parethood helped me deal with the aftermath of the rape allowing me to deal and cope as best as I could in my own way( and of course they were there to comfort me in the lonely hours of the night, when I was feeling abandoned...the pamphlets PP gave me, that is, I could read those, since PP was not actually there). I was 14 when I decided (again, with my oh-so-mature decision-making skills, coupled with all the support I'd gotten from PP...NOT) to start having sex, the day I made that choice I made an appointment to get birth control pills. I'm 17 now, I've been with my current boyfriend for about two years. During that time i've been HIV and STD tested four times (exactly why do you need to be tested over the course of 2 years, HIV and STD do not generate de novo...oh...possibly her and her boyfriend are f'arounds? Druggies? Sounds like a PP sucess story to me). Right now I'm sitting in the waiting room while my boyfriend gets the results for his HIV test(ah, the romance of youth). We love each other so we're responsible and Planned Parenthood helps us to do that.

Oh, please. Sounds more like old soviet dogma (We love the revolution so we strive to surpass the tractor quota and the thoughts of the Chairman helps us do that.)
Harvard@Cal | 12.14.05 - 12:00 pm | #

Havard:

I won't be so quick to blame the parents for an 11 yo dating a 17 yo: in PA, when parents tried to stop a 14 yo from dating an 18 yo, they were shot. For years we read of teens being wooed by online pals (many of whom were adults posing as teens), who then ran off to meet them. If this letter represents +/- 6 years ago, the parents may have been naieve to what she was doing.


Theresa:

In any case, no - I don't support turning a raped 11 year old over to parents that would have possibly shamed her so bad that she'd never trust her own judgement again.

It's really amazing how folks here are arguing ferociously about this case (on both sides) when we have NO IDEA WHAT THE FACTS ARE.

The girl wrote, "Planned Parethood helped me deal with the aftermath of the rape allowing me to deal and cope as best as I could in my own way."

It is simply not clear what she means by that. It COULD mean that she walked into a PP clinic the same day she was raped. It COULD mean that, at 14, someone at a PP clinic helped her get tested for STDs and on birth control.

It is unclear whether she ever told PP that she was raped. Read the text. Where does it say that? I'm not saying she didn't, but who knows?

It's silly having an argument about "she might have meant this" or "no, I really think she meant that" when we don't actually know what happened.
ilikefacts | 12.14.05 - 12:56 pm | #

how did this girl even get to PP? Who the hell told her to go there?

Disgusting.
who | 12.14.05 - 1:06 pm | #

I fixed the link to California law that requires Plannned Parenthood and others to report sexual abuse.

I've edited a comment that went over the line. Please be civil, everyone. If you're not sure what's civil and what's not, please read the Harris Protocol (linked at left).
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 1:16 pm | #

Its good the law requires reporting of sexual or other abuse of children to the police. None of these laws require reporting the abuse to the parents. Sadly, in many cases, the abuser(s) are the parents!
HBT | 12.14.05 - 4:28 pm | #

The public school nurse probably told her about Planned Parenthood. That's no huge mystery: PP's connection with public schools! I have a similar PP history... they are all about "we're the big, fat, nurturing breast, leave it to us." Screw your parents!
Sarah M. | 12.14.05 - 4:45 pm | #

"It's really amazing how folks here are arguing ferociously about this case (on both sides) when we have NO IDEA WHAT THE FACTS ARE."

OK, here are the facts. Planned Parenthood hides sexual crimes against minor girls AS A MATTER OF POLICY.

You probably aren't aware of this because the pro-abortion mainstream media simply refused to give it any coverage, but a group called Life Dynamics recently did a phone sting that revealed that PP routinely breaks the law requiring them to report the rape of minors.

You can hear some of these calls for yourself at:
http://tapes.yeson73.net/

They called 800 clinics (mostly PP clinics) posing as a 13-year-old girl. In each call the "13 year old" told the clinic staff that she was 13, her boyfriend was 22 and that she wanted an abortion so that her parents wouldn't find out that her 22-year-old-boyfriend had impregnated her.

The vast majority of clinics made NO ATTEMPT to contact authorities or ascertain the identity of the 22-year-old rapist.

A quote from the President of Life Dynamics:

Bill Berkowitz
WorkingForChange
06.11.02 Printer-friendly version
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Planned Parenthood in the hot seat
Antiabortion activists charge reproductive rights
groups with 'abetting sexual predators'


Are the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Abortion Federation aiding and abetting sexual predators? That's the charge being hurled at both reproductive rights organizations by the Denton, Texas-based Life Dynamics, Inc. Moreover, it's a charge being picked up by a number of mainstream media outlets across the country.
For years, abortion providers have come under attack on numerous fronts by antiabortion organizations. In its report, "Child Predators: Exposing the Partnership Between Planned Parenthood, The National Abortion Federation and Men Who Sexually Abuse Underage Girls," Life Dynamics claims that through an extensive undercover operation it has "uncovered irrefutable evidence that both…[organizations] — often operating on taxpayer dollars — knowingly conceal... crimes while aiding and abetting the sexual predators who commit them."

Over the years, Life Dynamics, Inc., headed by longtime antiabortion activist Mark Crutcher, has focused on litigation against abortion clinics and providers. Its new website, ChildPredators.com, is dedicated to "educat[ing] children and parents who may have been victimized by these organizations." The main allegation is: "Abortion providers and agencies that refer for abortion are underreporting the incidence of statutory rape, a form of sexual abuse, that regularly comes to their attention during the provision of abortion 'family planning services' to girls that are under the age of consent."

Researchers at Life Dynamics "conducted" what they called "a covert survey," placing telephone calls to more than 800 Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation facilities throughout the country. Each caller pretended to be a 13-year-old girl who had gotten pregnant by her 22-year-old boyfriend. The caller claimed she "wanted an abortion because she and her boyfriend did not want her parents to find out about the sexual relationship."

"In every call," the Life Dynamics report claims "the ages of the girl and her boyfriend were made perfectly clear. It was also made clear that the motivation for the abortion was to conceal this illicit sexual activity from the girl's parents and the authorities. Additionally, our caller never said a single thing that might suggest that her parents would become abusive if they discovered her sexual activity."

The survey's results were "appalling," says the report. "Even though many of these clinic workers openly acknowledged to our caller that this situation was illegal and that they were required to report it to the state, the overwhelming majority readily agreed to conceal this illegal sexual activity.

"Some employees of these organizations even coached our caller on how to avoid detection, how to circumvent parental involvement laws and what to say or not say when she came to the clinic. In a significant number of instances she was encouraged to lie about — or conceal — her age or her boyfriend's age or to give false names. One of the clinic representatives who acknowledged that she was required by state law to inform at least one of our caller's parents in writing that their daughter was seeking an abortion, went on to advise our caller that the best way to hide this from her parents was to use a fictitious address when she checked-in for her abortion.

"During these calls it was not uncommon for the Planned Parenthood or National Abortion Federation representative to warn our caller that if someone were to find out about this situation her boyfriend could go to jail. In those situations it was unmistakable that our caller was being instructed to be more careful about what information she gave out and to whom. It was also not uncommon for the employee to interrupt our caller when she started talking about her age or the age of her boyfriend. On those occasions, the obvious indication was that the employee did not want to hear this information.

"In other calls the facility employee advised our caller that she had already provided too much information for them to be able to help her. In those instances, she would often be given the number of another family planning facility and encouraged to tell a different story when she called there. At times, this advice was quite specific with the employee telling her exactly what to say — or not say — to the people she talked to at the second facility."
Mike | 12.14.05 - 5:00 pm | #

As it turns out, our friends at PP of Golden Gate were part of the phone sting I mentioned above. Hear the call here:
http://tapes.yeson73.net/thetape...tape.php? id=493

Partial transcript:
CALLER: Okay. Well, do you know -- I'm just really worried about everything because like, well, my friend told me that since like I'm going to be 14 in March and she said that they would have to tell my parents, but my boyfriend's 22. Could he just sign whatever it is, and they wouldn't have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: You're going to be 14 years old?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: No. You don't need parental consent.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: At all at any age. It doesn't matter.

CALLER: So my boyfriend would sign, or --

CLINIC: No, your boyfriend doesn't have to sign anything.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: You would do everything.
Mike | 12.14.05 - 5:07 pm | #

A couple of people have implied that they helped the girl and part of helping her was not reporting it. Let me tell you, helping rape victims to report the crime is VERY important. I was the victim of sexual assault and attempted rape in High School. Luckily, I wasn't raped and there was no lasting physical damage. I told one girl and she tried to get me to report it but I didn't. A year later the boy who assaulted me assulted a 12 year old boy. I felt HORRID. If I had reported him, that poor boy would not have had to go through what he did. Now, I am not blaming my friend, she was great to me, and did the best she could, but if she had been an adult and counselor she should have known what to do and would have gotten me to report it.
Sarah Faith | 12.14.05 - 5:49 pm | #

Dawn - thanks for breaking out the whistle on hiatus! These stories need airing. The darkness cannot stand the light...
Nightfly | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 6:08 pm | #

Note that if the doctors have reason to suspect that the parents would be abusive -- they are also required by law to report that, too.
Mary | 12.14.05 - 7:49 pm | #

Thanks for the post and article. I find it highly disturbing in many ways- especially that a 17 yo would find interest in an 11 yo. That can't be normal (or is it these days?!) By the way, wasn't Kansas trying to get the names of minor abortion recipiants to find out if there was rapes involved, and PP raised such a big stink about privacy? Seems like I heard something like that a while back, but I don't know what ever came of it. Just curious. Thanks again for informing. Carolyn
carolyn | Homepage | 12.14.05 - 10:39 pm | #

The only thing we actually know in this case is that a letter was removed from the website. We do NOT know that the letter's contents are actually true-- it could have been fabricated and posted by a snarky anti-abortionist.

If you have an actual verifiable case of PP covering up the rape of an 11-year-old, then I would say they have some questions to answer because they are violating the law. This letter however is not proof at all-- it could have been written by anyone.
Yo | 12.15.05 - 10:04 am | #

"If you have an actual verifiable case of PP covering up the rape of an 11-year-old, then I would say they have some questions to answer because they are violating the law. This letter however is not proof at all-- it could have been written by anyone."

Please see my previous posts or visit the links below:
http://tapes.yeson73.net/ thetape...tape...tape.php? id=493

http://tapes.yeson73.net/
Mike | 12.15.05 - 11:00 am | #

Corrected link:
http://tapes.yeson73.net/thetape...tape.php? id=493
Mike | 12.15.05 - 11:01 am | #

I want to disagree with something someone said in passing. I think that shame is good. Shame is the emotion that means you realize that your actions are wrong, and/or just plain stupid and that you should seriously change your behavior. The experience of feeling ashamed when you are wrong is what makes you able to trust your decisions later on.

I was in a very similar situation to this girl (only 15 and not 11), when I was molested at a party by a 19 year old whom I later began to "date". I WISH my parents had told me it was wrong when I told them I was dating a 19 year old boy. I WISH my parents had made me feel ashamed--my life would be a lot better if they had even tried to teach me a lesson about sex. I was lucky that this boy's friends told him that he couldn't date me because I was "jail bait" before things got completely out of control.

And that brings up another point. PP is not making this girl "safe" with silence. Boys aren't stupid, they understand consequences. I bet that if older boys knew that places like PP would rat them out if girls went there to deal with the "aftermath" of sexual encounters (which could be an STD, not necessarily an abortion) they would think twice about trying to pressure young girls into consensual sex. They would think twice about consequences.
Magda | 12.15.05 - 2:14 pm | #

When I was 11, I can remember being very scared of my parents. For things that I didn't even need to be. I once got yelled at in a department store by a old lady working there, as I was looking at toys. I didn't do anything. But I was terrified my mother was going to tell my father, and I'd get in trouble.
(Mom laughs about that now, how worried I was, she saw me the whole time, and she says the woman was just 'a witch').

I'm certain that a 11 year old is *terrified* to tell her parents. I'd dare you to show me one who'd be not scared to announce a pregnancy to her parents.

This is why the parental notification hardline that PP takes is fatally flawed, and I've lost almost total respect for PP as a result. Sure, she says she's "scared of her parents finding out", ok, sign here, tada.

If that 11 year old had gotten drunk, gotten in the car, and backed over a neighbor, there is *no* possible way the parents would not have been involved.

I mean, freeping creeping bleeding whatever-you-hold-holy, this is a *5th grader who's authorizing major medical proceedure on herself*. She won't be able to get her ears pierced for another *seven years*. And lets look at where that's gotten her - very sexually active at 14, and still under the age of consent - proudly proclaiming how mature she is, with her bf of 2 years.

I don't have kids. I'm not against early abortion as a rule. But if *my* daughter ever gets knocked up, there is *no* good excuse for me not to know. And if there was, then it ought to be good enough to have the kid removed from my care *anyway* by social services.
Addison | 12.15.05 - 2:40 pm | #

Excellent points, Addison.

Your last two sentences reminds me of an episode of the new medical drama House, this past May and how the ACLU has been fighting against parents' rights to know of their children's abortions.

In a similar vein to your great examples, "Rep. Jeffrey Kottkamp (R-Cape Coral) [who] sponsored...parental notification legislation...said, 'Does [a] minor have a legal capacity to understand all the consequences? If she's not old enough yet to decide if she should have a tattoo, or drive, or vote, how in the world is she old enough to make such an important decision on her own?'"

Our post and another's on the House episode are here:
http://afterabortion.blogspot.co...nd- circuit.html
http://loftednest.blogspot.com/2...se-and- ttp.html

But the gist of the episode was that the House main character told the 12-year-old deathly ill patient that he wasn't forced, by New Jersey law, to tell her parents that she was pregnant (which was finally determined to be causing her life-threatening condition) or that she was going to have to abort the baby, presumably (though not stated as such) to save her life. The girl fearfully asked Dr. House, "Are you gonna tell my parents?" He said, "Someone should," and left her to think about that.

As he left the room, the parents pressed him for answers. All he said was, with a straight face, "She has a large growth in her abdomen that's the underlying cause of her illness, we'll remove it in surgery, she'll be fine." The parents kept pressing about what exactly was this "underlying cause," and he kept evading, speaking in ever-more-cryptic doublespeak until finally they asked if he was going to give them the full details, and he said, "No, I'm not. I can't."

This is what a lack of parental notification laws means. He isn't, by law, allowed to even hint or say anything that would divulge the truth.

Yes, it's one, possibly rare instance. But I agree with Addison. If it's my child, there is never a good excuse not to know.

BTW, on a slightly different vein of this notification issue, I believe the New Hampshire law that's being argued now, already provides for the medical personnel the girl is at-that-moment seeing, to get a judge of the court on the phone, day or night, to make the on-the-spot decision to allow the abortion to save her life without telling 'rents.

The battle is all about the "health" clause, which since Doe v. Bolton has been greivously abused by patients and doctors alike in that even "mental anguish" and "I have too many kids to feed now as it is" are included among the bogus definitions that pass for the "physical health" exception. Hence the brouhaha, and rightfully so.

Those who fight these notification laws, and even flaunt them as PP and others do, are fighting to keep abortion unfettered for themselves, mostly, and it's blinded them to having concern for the safety of the vast majority of minors. They believe that once one card in abortion's house of cards falls, then their pet card might fall next. It's sadly all too transparent.
Annie B. | Homepage | 12.15.05 - 4:06 pm | #

Many clinic protestors are quite familiar with the older man escorting a very-underage girl into the clinic.

In Denver, the DA (a putatively pro-life Democrat running for governor) is rumored to have made an executive decision not to investigate these obvious failures to report sexual abuse.

I wouldn't be surprised if other jurisdictions have made such decisions. If one could find such official decisions in writing, it would certainly highlight the arbitrary nature of that law enforcement which sacrificies its young girls.
Kevin Jones | Homepage | 12.15.05 - 6:17 pm | #

Yo's comment seems particularly inappropriate. Whether or not the letter was fabricated and posted by a "snarky antiabortionist" is completely irrelevant. PP allowed it to stay on its site, obviously finding nothing strange about its content.

Sheesh. The lengths some people go to to excuse PP.

By the way, the comments at Pandagon are so bizarre and ugly, you might want to lay in a supply of brain bleach before you look at what the proudly heathen think about PP's role in this horror.

Edited By Siteowner
Colleen | 12.15.05 - 6:56 pm | #

Edited by siteowner? My whole comment is there, apparently intact. Uh oh, snarky prochoicers are sneaking in and posting stuff... without Dawn's knowledge!
Colleen | 12.15.05 - 9:54 pm | #

I only changed one adjective so it wouldn't invite further invective. If you don't notice, that's great.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.15.05 - 9:56 pm | #

LOL! Let's hope the editor of your new book is as sparing of your deathless prose!
Colleen | 12.16.05 - 10:11 am | #

What's kind of sad about this is she went to Planned Parenthood about her rape and not anyone else. It seems almost that she felt that she could trust no one with what happened to her, so then the devil took the opportunity in her weakness and stole her innocence (with her ignorant!).
That poor girl. I pray that God open her eyes.
Mia | 12.16.05 - 11:23 pm | #

"I want to disagree with something someone said in passing. I think that shame is good."

I'm who you're responding to.
I have to say, some guilt can be good. For goodness sakes - I'm Catholic. :oP

That being said, I've seen parents yell at their children, calling them stupid, and so forth and the look in the kids eyes just breaks your heart. They will *never* again trust themselves in a way that, as an adult, you need to trust yourself in order to not go nuts.

I pretty much stopped posting here because people started assuming that I was pro-PP and whatnot, while missing the bigger point. I just wanted to say I didn't think the kid should get a pat on the back. On the other hand - she was raped. So how do you decide (or parents, or whoever) how much "shame" she really needs. There's a thin line that's going to be easy to cross that's going to put in her little girl brain the idea that she "brought this on herself" and once she believes that, it will take years to repair that damage - if it ever is fixed.
Teresa | Homepage | 12.17.05 - 8:58 am | #

If the PP story is fabricated, then it's false advertising isn't it?

If they think that using such a story (true or not) is clever, then all I can do is keep praying for them.
Susan Swander | 12.18.05 - 11:05 am | #

Thanks for posting this, Dawn. Those defending PP are using the same discredited arguments that were used in past to cover up the sexual abuse of children and minors.
Fr. Phil Bloom | Homepage | 12.19.05 - 11:43 pm | #

Thank you so much, Father. Thanks too for the link to your beautiful Christmas homily.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 12.19.05 - 11:53 pm | #

Is Planned Parenthood a mandated reporter in California?

If not, why not?

The Dept of Social Services would be all over that case in any other situation. And that means interviewing the parents and child, talking to the DA, etc.

Parents may, in extremis, shame their children -- I dare any parent of a child older than ten that in a moment of fatigue or overwhelm they haven't done so and had to apologize -- but there is plenty of time to repair that damage or to get help in doing so.

The kid may have been protecting her parents from knowledge of what she knew was behavior they wouldn't approve of.

It certainly sounds like Planned Parenthood actively promotes an environment which tells children that parents aren't to be trusted. Any organization or system that undermines parental authority takes away the only real protection a child has. No one will ever care for you as your parents do (even the less than perfect ones) . And no Planned Parenthood worker is going to take that 11 year old home with her.

Talk about abandonment after you destroy the child's attachment --however fragile -- to the two people who care about her the most.

This is beyond sad. It's evil.
dymphna | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 8:18 pm | #

"Is Planned Parenthood a mandated reporter in California?"

The reporting requirement is a federal one, so every abortion mill in the country is required to report cases of suspected child abuse.
Mike | 12.23.05 - 9:25 am | #

I understand where the girl and PP are coming from, i was raped when i was 12, and you would be lucky if i told a soul, probably just like that girl. So if she trusted someone from PP that much to tell them, you should consider that a prayer. If i told someone about me, i would trust them not to say anything. i dont think it's aanybody's business but her own. And making her stand out like this is not right!
Karisa | 04.11.06 - 6:41 pm | #

I agree that under the law PP were required to report, however does anybody consider the girl? She may have been fearful of her parents' reaction or she may have felt double violated, 1st by the rape and then by all the questioning. I belive that the majority of rapes in US are not reported because of the stigma associated with it and the attitude, she was asking for it, even at 11!!!
Not that your cause and belief is not important, but how about working on changing these attitudes?

P.S. "Peaceful pro-lifers" were mentioned here. I would love for "pro-lifers" or any protesters to remain "peaceful". It's Ok to disagree, but Violence is not the answer, regardless of your position or religious background.
Alice | 06.07.06 - 4:21 pm | #

Planned Parenthood is a criminal organization and needs to be investigated and shut down (not necessarily in that order - they can be shut down and then investigated) ASAP.
Jason | Homepage | 01.26.08 - 10:41 pm | #