Posted on 08/11/2014 9:59:22 PM PDT by Morgana
Planned Parenthood should be investigated and inspected for allegedly covering up the sexual assault of a minor, according to pro-life watchdogs.
In a complaint filed last week, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) asked Arizona officials to inspect and investigate a Planned Parenthood facility in Tempe, Arizona. The complaint comes months after an alleged sexual assault victim and her mother filed a police report claiming that a counselor declined to report the rape.
The girl, who went to the facility because the assault left her pregnant, claims that the counselor ignored a state law requiring the assault be reported to authorities.
“The counselor intentionally miscoded the assault as a consensual encounter,” says the report. “The counselor told them that they did not want the hassle of having to report the assault to law enforcement as they were a mandatory reporter.”
Earlier this year, 18-year old Tyler Kost was arrested and charged for sexually assaulting 18 minor girls as young as 12 years old. Kost's assaults took place from October 2009 through early 2014, according to police. The alleged victim's police report shows that she was at the Planned Parenthood clinic in December of 2013, and had an abortion in January 2014. Her mother was with her at the appointment.
ADF Legal Counsel Natalie Decker told LifeSiteNews that the police report shows a need for active involvement in the case by state officials. "They need to investigate this facility and other Planned Parenthood facilities in Arizona, not just this allegation," Decker said. "How many other incidents of sexual abuse involving children have been deliberately miscoded?"
Planned Parenthood employees are qualified as health care employees, and as such are required in all states to report sexual assaults to authorities. Decker noted that the ADF is not alone in wanting the police report to be taken seriously. In May, the Pinal County Sheriff's office asked the state Attorney General to investigate the girl's allegations. Likewise, in July, ADF joined the Arizona Life Coalition in calling for an investigation into Planned Parenthood.
"Not only should the Department of Health Services immediately investigate this serious allegation of a violation of Arizona law by the Planned Parenthood Arizona Tempe facility," said Decker, "but the Arizona Attorney General should also investigate the potential criminal violations, as requested by Sheriff Paul Babeu."
ADF filed its complaint on August 7 because the Attorney General has yet to investigate the clinic. The state Attorney General says it is examining the allegations, which if true would constitute a felony. However, the Attorney General's office told ABC15 that the alleged victim won't return calls that would help facilitate an investigation. Advertisement
In addition to the criminal investigation, Decker says the state Department of Health Services should use a recently-enacted law to inspect the Planned Parenthood clinic. The law, which was passed in April and went into effect this summer, gave state authorities the legal right to do warrantless inspections of abortion clinics in the state. According to Decker, this put abortion clinics on the same level as other health care facilities in the state.
Health Director Will Humble has said he is reviewing the letter.
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In a public statement provided to LifeSiteNews, Planned Parenthood Arizona said that it "learned about the case from reporters" earlier this year, and "contacted Pinal County Sheriff's office" after hearing about the allegations. "We take these allegations seriously and will fully cooperate with any investigating agency," says the statement.
"Patient health and safety is our top priority, and Planned Parenthood Arizona takes its role as a mandatory reporter of criminal activity very seriously, including screening for potential abuse, charting answers, and responding to indications of criminal behavior. We follow all laws and issue appropriate reports to authorities. We have a zero tolerance policy for staff who fail to follow this policy."
However, Live Action founder Lila Rose, whose organization is part of the Arizona Life Coalition, disputed Planned Parenthood's claims of innocence. "Live Action's latest investigation shows that Planned Parenthood has a real hard time understanding the word 'no' when it comes to consent to sex," she told LifeSiteNews. "The ADF's new lawsuit – in addition to previous Live Action investigations – is showing that Planned Parenthood also has trouble with the definition of 'mandatory reporter.'"
According to Rose, "Planned Parenthood's sexual agenda enables adult-child sexual relationships despite emerging stories of the tremendous trauma the victims in these cases endure. Its staffers regularly cover up child sexual abuse."
Undercover Live Action videos have caught numerous Planned Parenthood employees encouraging underage girls to hide abortions, lie about their ages, and otherwise go around state laws related to abortion and sexual assaults.
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