Sexual Abuse Coverup at Planned Parenthood
Live Action went undercover to document Planned Parenthood’s willingness to repeatedly violate mandatory reporting laws for statutory rape that protect children.
Results
Investigations found eight Planned Parenthood clinics in five different states were willing to cover-up sexual abuse, disregarding mandatory suspected statutory rape reporting laws. Clinics also provided instructions on how to circumvent parental consent laws.
Bloomington, IN Planned Parenthood
When Lila Rose went undercover at Planned Parenthood in Bloomington, she posed as a 13-year-old girl impregnated by a 31-year-old man. In the video, the nurse acknowledges that she is required by law to report the abuse to Child Protective Services, but assures Rose that she won’t. She then coaches Rose on how to circumvent parental notification laws by going out of state for the abortion, and tells her to lie about her boyfriend’s age. The Planned Parenthood employee was suspended and then fired. Following the release of the video, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter opened an investigation into Planned Parenthood.
Indianapolis, IN Planned Parenthood
In Indianapolis, a pattern of covering up abuse started to emerge. A Planned Parenthood employee spoke to Lila Rose, posing as a 13-year-old who had gotten pregnant by a 31-year-old. When the employee was told the age of the “boyfriend”, they stated that they didn’t care about the age and wouldn’t report it. As in Bloomington, Rose was advised to go across state lines to obtain a secret abortion and to lie about her boyfriend’s age. After the release of the video, the staffer resigned.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana decided to retrain their employees, but chose a group with extremely close ties to retrain their employees. They also refused to release the number of reports made to Child Protective Services in conjunction with the number of very young minors given STD testing, abortion counseling, pregnancy testing, and birth control.
Tucson, AZ Planned Parenthood
Tucson was the third Planned Parenthood clinic to show a disturbing willingness to break the law in a multi-state child abuse scandal. Lila Rose entered the clinic with Jackie Stollar posing as a 15-year-old impregnated by a 27-year-old. The nurse advised Stollar not to bring her boyfriend to the judicial hearing required in Arizona to waive parental consent. It was not the first time Planned Parenthood of Arizona failed to cover up abuse. Following the release of the video, Planned Parenthood of Arizona promised to do an internal review, but refused to apologize and admitted no wrongdoing.
Phoenix, AZ Planned Parenthood
Our undercover video found that two clinics in Phoenix broke the law by refusing to report statutory rape. Jackie Stollar and Lila Rose posed as 15-year-old girls, with Stollar telling the Planned Parenthood staffer at one clinic that her boyfriend was 27, and told the other clinic staffer that her boyfriend was “a lot older”. Both clinics failed to report the abuse.
After the Phoenix video was released, the Maricopa County District Attorney opened an investigation into Planned Parenthood but decided to not prosecute Planned Parenthood because they interpreted the state’s mandatory sexual abuse reporting requirement to only cover medical professionals at Planned Parenthood and not other staff. The District Attorney called for the current law to be changed so that the reporting loophole would be closed and all staff at a medical facility would be required to report child sexual abuse when made aware.
Memphis, TN Planned Parenthood
In Memphis, a Planned Parenthood counselor was caught counseling Lila Rose, posing as a 14-year-old girl, to lie about her 31-year-old boyfriend’s age to get an abortion in our undercover video. The staffer counsels Rose to lie to a judge about her boyfriend’s ago in order to bypass parental notification laws, admits that she should report the abuse, but chooses to do nothing. Planned Parenthood states that the employee voluntarily left between the video’s filming and its release. Following the video’s release, Tennessee lawmakers voted to defund Planned Parenthood by up to $1.1 million.
Birmingham, AL Planned Parenthood
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham was caught on camera telling Lila Rose, posing undercover as a 14-year-old girl impregnated by a 31-year-old man, that the clinic “does sometimes bend the rules a little bit”. The Birmingham video is the sixth video to be released, implicating Planned Parenthood in a nationwide, multi-state scandal. Rose told the counselor her boyfriend’s age, and that she didn’t want her parents to find out about the abortion or about her boyfriend.
The counselor told Rose that “as long as you consented to having sex with him, there’s nothing we can truly do about that”. She admitted that the boyfriend could get in trouble, but said that any information given “stays within these walls”. The counselor also told Rose to use the signature of somebody besides her parents, like an older sister, to act as a substitute for parental consent. Following the release of the video, the Alabama Attorney General investigated, and found nine violations. After the Attorney General’s investigation, the clinic was put on probation.
Milwaukee WI Planned Parenthood
Our undercover video in Milwaukee, WI is the ninth video to be released showing the cover-up of sexual abuse by Planned Parenthood. The counselor tells Lila Rose, posing as a 14-year-old, that the situation will be reported depending on who she tells. Rose then tells the counselor that her boyfriend is 31, and the counselor tells Rose that she doesn’t have to say anything, and to “just give them the information that’s needed.”
In Wisconsin, sex between a minor under the age of 16 and an adult is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report the information immediately. Planned Parenthood WI CEO Teri Huyck claimed that the reason a report was not made was because a last name was not given. Live Action responded by releasing the extended footage proving otherwise. Since the release of the extended footage, Planned Parenthood has not responded.
Louisville, KY EMW Women's Surgical Center
This undercover footage was taken by Live Action President Lila Rose and Live Action Actor Jackie Stollar who both posed undercover as minors with Rose telling the staff that she was 14-years-old and impregnated by her 31-year-old “boyfriend”.
In the video, the EMW counselor named “Wendy” determines that Rose is “14 to 15-weeks pregnant” and Rose expresses that she wants to keep the situation secret from her parents. Despite not giving any indication that Rose will face abusive parents, the clinic guides Rose to call Louisville attorney Mickey Adams so that Adams can help Rose obtain a judicial bypass around Kentucky’s parental consent law and avoid parental knowledge of the abortion or sexually abusive relationship.
In the state of Kentucky, sex between a 14-year-old and a 31-year-old is rape in the third degree and would reasonably be considered sexual abuse of a child which must be reported to law enforcement immediately. The clinic failed to ask the questions necessary to file a child sexual abuse report and did not communicate to Rose about the illegal or dangerous nature of her sexual relationship.
The clinic staff also told our investigators false medical information about the developmental capabilities of the preborn human fetus.
Additional Resources
Download the Videos
Full Investigative Footage
