Planned Parenthood not reporting alleged statutory rapes, investigation shows

Charlotte, N.C., Oct 7, 2008 / 14:00 pm

A pro-life student group has charged that Planned Parenthood employees in North Carolina did not report two incidents of alleged statutory rape when college student volunteers posing as 15 and 14 years of age told clinic workers they had just had sexual relations with their mother’s live-in-boyfriend. The clinic workers, whose interactions with the undercover students were recorded and posted to YouTube, may have violated state law mandating the reporting of statutory rape.

Students for Life America (SFLA) released the video on October 1.

Its first segment records a conversation between an undercover Students for Life volunteer college student posing as a 15-year-old girl. Speaking to a clinic worker at a Charlotte clinic, she asks if her mother can find out she was at the clinic.

When told "no," the student asks if they will provide her the morning-after pill and asks if she may return later for contraception.

Playing the part of a girl who has had sexual relations with her mother’s live-in boyfriend, she asks if she can get the morning-after pill at a pharmacy over the counter. When told legal minors may not purchase the drug that way, she initially describes the boyfriend as a person who is "older" and can acquire it for her.

Later she says the boyfriend is in his thirties.

"My concern is the age difference…" a clinic worker states at one point.

The undercover student replies: "Oh, no, it’s fine. There’s nothing bad going on."

"Well, legally, though, it’s illegal," one clinic worker replies. "It’s statutory rape."

The student then asks if she can return later and talk about it then. A clinic worker then schedules her for a birth control appointment.

Asked again about the morning-after pill, a clinic worker says "anyone over 18 can purchase it."

SFLA submitted a request for the records of all cases of reported statutory rape in Charlotte, North Carolina from June 13 to September 25. The records reportedly did not show that the case was reported to the authorities.

Later that same day, a different student posing as a 14-year-old girl made similar remarks at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Winston-Salem. Again she alluded to a sexual relationship with a man in his thirties who asked her to acquire the morning after pill.

A clinic worker then asks about her age and the age of her lover. Responding to her request for a morning-after pill, according to the SFLA video the worker says "Well sweetie we can give you Plan B. However, you’re underage, and we can’t really give you what you need right now."

"Do you know anyone who’s 18 who can buy it for you?" the clinic worker asks.

"Well he can," the student replies.

"OK well yea, that would be fine," a clinic worker remarks.

Soon after another clinic worker asks "You said you had sex with a 30 year-old man?"

"Um, yea" said the student.

"You know that’s against the law, right? And we have to report something like this," the worker says.

"Well, it’s not, it’s not like that," the student actor replies.

"It is against the law," the clinic worker says. "You do know that’s against the law?"

"We have to report it, since you came in as a minor saying that you had sex with someone that’s over 18."

Later that day, the student called back and gave the clinic worker an identity and an address to report. The clinic worker recognized her as the same girl and repeated that the alleged underage relationship was against the law.

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"You do understand we have to report this, okay?" the clinic worker asked.

A later SFLA request for all reports of statutory rape in Winston-Salem from June 13 through September 30 produced no records showing that the second case was reported to authorities.

SFLA Executive Director Kristan Hawkins commented on the investigation:

"These videos are simply shocking. That Planned Parenthood staffers acknowledged the girls were being raped and then did not report the crime is horrific. They allowed these girls to go home to their rapists and even confirmed that their rapists could get the Morning After Pill for them to cover their crimes."

Tom McClusky, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Family Research Council, also responded to the investigation, saying:

"As long as Planned Parenthood puts their fealty to abortion on demand above protecting young girls from statutory rapists then investigations such as the ones done by SFLA will be needed."

The video is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkakpcWSyWY