December 31st, 2009 | Contact: 323.454.3304, media@liveaction.org
LOS ANGELES – Lila Rose, 20-year old president of Live Action, responds to a public statement made by Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum in defense of her organization after investigative videos shot in Bloomington and Indianapolis clinics showed the criminal cover up of statutory rape. Rose calls for Planned Parenthood of Indiana to publicly release the number of reports Planned Parenthood of Indiana has made to Child Protective Services in conjunction with the number of minors to whom they have provided STD testing, abortion counseling, pregnancy testing, and birth control.
In an open letter to Planned Parenthood of Indiana, Rose says that comparing these two statistics will begin to give the public a more accurate picture of the extent to which Planned Parenthood fails to report adult-child sexual relationships. The letter outlines the two paths Rose believes Cockrum can choose. “Planned Parenthood of Indiana may either opt for transparency in service to the rule of law, or choose to continue in the same secrecy that has already caused deep public distrust and summoned a state investigation.”
Rose questions the abortion provider’s commitment to reform in light of new information uncovered by Live Action. Live Action revealed today that Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, the group selected by Planned Parenthood for internal reforms, has close ties with Planned Parenthood. Prevent Child Abuse of Indiana’s lead “prevention specialist,” Carol Pool, worked for Planned Parenthood of Indiana for thirteen years as an “educator” who gave sex education workshops.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s website says, “PCAI is a great organization,” and states, “Family planning services go hand-in-hand with the prevention of child abuse.”
“For Planned Parenthood to enlist the help of its friends and former employees at PCAI in the name of reform is like a predator saying he will babysit his victim,” said Rose.
She calls the promise of “staff re-training” by Planned Parenthood a public relations ploy. “All employees in the videos expressed knowledge of their legal obligation to report the rape,” said Rose.”This is not a matter of knowing the laws. When Planned Parenthood doesn’t like a law, they break it.”
Actual cases of Planned Parenthood covering up adult-child sexual relationships have been reported in Arizona, California, Ohio, and Washington D.C.
“These incidents, and our undercover work, reveal a disturbing pattern of lawlessness,” Rose explains. “Planned Parenthood needs to release all applicable statistical data on the number of minors it treats in sexual abuse situations and the number of these cases it reports to law enforcement.”
The open letter can be found on Live Action’s website, www.liveaction.org. The second investigative video, released last week, can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxsWZz9whg
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