Failed to meet with young teen 24 hours before performing abortion
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio Region violated a state law requiring "informed consent" before performing an abortion on a 14-year-old girl in March 2004, according to an Ohio court.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins says the ruling by Judge Jody Luebbers shows why the American taxpayers should stop funding Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.
"Judge Jody Luebbers stood up to the nation's largest abortion provider, ruling that Planned Parenthood defied state laws by not reporting suspected child abuse and not providing a mandatory counseling session – including offering pregnancy options – 24 hours prior to the abortion. Despite these kinds of abuses, Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar-a-year organization, raking in approximately $350 million annually in state and federal grants," said Perkins in a news release.
"Once again, we see how Planned Parenthood has failed to protect the health and safety of women. And as we can see from this case, procuring an abortion is more important to Planned Parenthood than following the law on something as important as protecting young women from sexual predators," Perkins continued.
"Isn't it time to stop taxpayer funding of such a group? We call on the new Congress to act quickly on legislation introduced by Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, a bill that would prohibit Title X family planning dollars being awarded to groups that provide abortion as family planning, such as Planned Parenthood," said Perkins.
The ruling is the latest development in a civil suit brought by the parents of the girl, who became pregnant by her 22-year-old soccer coach. The coach then brought the girl to the Planned Parenthood clinic to abort the baby.
The coach, John Haller, was later convicted of sexual battery and served three years in prison.
According to a Dec. 10 news release from the Alliance Defense Fund, the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas ruled that Planned Parenthood failed to meet with the underage mother at least 24 hours before performing the abortion. The clinic performed the abortion the day the girl came to the clinic.
According to the decision, Planned Parenthood, "breached their duty…to have a physician, at least 24 hours prior to Plaintiff Jane Roe's abortion, meet with Plaintiff Jane Roe in a private setting to be certain that Plaintiff Jane Roe understood the information necessary for her to make an informed decision about whether to have an abortion."
"The court made the right decision at this point in the case, and we look forward to ultimate success once the trial is over," said Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman in the news release.
"The health and safety of young girls is more important than Planned Parenthood's desire to perform an abortion," said the ADF-affiliated attorney, Brian Hurley, representing the parents. "Ohio law mandates that Planned Parenthood meet with someone seeking an abortion in advance to be certain that she has all the information she needs to make a decision. That didn't happen."
In their civil suit, the parents also allege that Planned Parenthood failed to inform them, or notify civil authorities, as state law requires in cases of statutory rape.
An issue raised by the case reached the Ohio Supreme Court in 2009. The court ruled that the parents did not have the right to obtain the clinic's records of "confidential child abuse reports or medical records of other minors" during pre-trial discovery.
According to the supreme court's opinion summary, "a police investigation revealed that the teen had been sexually abused and impregnated by her soccer coach, John Haller; that the phone number provided to Planned Parenthood by Jane had been Haller's cell phone number; and that the person from whom the clinic had obtained consent for the abortion was Haller, not Jane's father. Haller was later convicted on multiple counts of sexual battery."
The case, Roe v. Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio Region, is scheduled to be tried on Feb. 7.
Contact: Brian Fitzpatrick
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: December 18, 2010
