In 1990, “Mary Jean Doe” (a pen name used for anonymity) told her story of child sexual abuse to SisterLife magazine. At the age of 12, Mary Jean’s brother and a college-age friend of the family both sexually abused her. At the time, Mary Jean was just a vulnerable child. She had had no formal sexual education, and was completely confused by the abuse. She didn’t realize she was a victim, she didn’t know the basic facts of her reproductive biology:
About three or four months after the abuse began, I was late for a period. I told my brother this, and he informed me that I “should have made that guy wear a rubber, you idiot.” I did not know what a “rubber” was, or where it was worn, or why. All I knew was that if you did not have periods, you were pregnant. And if you were pregnant, you were in trouble.
Both of Mary Jean’s abusers and Planned Parenthood took advantage of Mary Jean’s innocence and ignorance. Even Mary Jean’s Sunday school teacher portrayed callous disregard for Mary Jean’s situation, flippantly referring her to Planned Parenthood after the young girl confided in her that she thought she may be pregnant at the age of twelve, and advising her to go with her older brother (who was one of her abusers), and not to tell her parents. Mary describes the experience at Planned Parenthood as cold and terrifying.
I heard a lot about “being responsible” and “taking control of my body…” My older brother maintained a strong silence throughout the entire time — no one asked him a single question. Two days later, I received a phone call telling me the [pregnancy] test was positive and to come in the following Saturday morning with a sanitary napkin and a friend who could drive. The caller never used the words “pregnant” or “abortion.” I did not keep that appointment; my period started that evening.
No one who knew about Mary Jean’s sexual activity stopped for a moment to ask her whether it was consensual, with whom it was taking place, or whether she was OK.
No one asked who my “partner” was; no one expressed any dismay, concern, or even interest that a 12-year-old girl needed a pregnancy test.
Mary Jean’s abuse ended a short time later, when her brother began victimizing neighbors younger than she was and lost interest in her. The other young man moved away. But it wasn’t until years later, in high school, that Mary Jean was able to start assembling pieces of her broken past. She learned that oral sexual contact does not lead to pregnancy, and so she could never have been pregnant despite Planned Parenthood scheduling her for an abortion at the age of twelve. She began to feel like a “horrible person” since others had thought she needed to have an abortion.
Mary Jean’s story is, sadly, not unique. Although her abuse took place decades ago, abortion proponents like Planned Parenthood are still working hand-in-hand with the sexual licentiousness of modern culture.
Over the years, I have found out that my story is very common in two aspects, neither of which will be good news for either side in the abortion debate. The first is the fact that my experience with Planned Parenthood was not an aberration. The sexual attitude often championed by Planned Parenthood is a serious factor in preventing the discovery of sexual abuse of young people. Had anyone shown even the least bit of disapproval or concern, I would have divulged the truth and begged for help.
The exploiting practices of Planned Parenthood have led to a cycle of abuse and cover-up that have disturbingly remained unchanged. Today, for example, thanks to the lobbying of anti-life groups like Planned Parenthood, emergency contraception can be purchased over the counter by anyone. This slippery slope perpetuates abuse by putting cover-up methods directly into the hands of abusers. This Students for Life of America undercover operation reveals that statutory rapists — like those who abused Mary Jean — can now simply purchase Plan B at a drug store and give it to their victim with no questions asked.
Mary Jean was right when she said that abortion “does absolutely nothing to protect a young girl from continued abuse and in fact aids the abuser in his crime,” and thanks to the abortion industry’s continued hold on legislatures (via lobbying) and students (via anti-life sexual education programs in schools), abortion was just the first rung on a slippery slope of child sexual abuse cover-ups in America.
