REJECT Planned Parenthood: Corporation has repeatedly failed victims of child sexual abuse

Planned Parenthood, which openly sexualizes children, continues to receive the bulk of its nearly $700 million annual dollars through taxpayer funding — specifically programs such as Medicaid reimbursements and the Title X Family Planning Program.

Yet, as Live Action News will demonstrate in the third installment of our “REJECT Planned Parenthood” series, both Medicaid and Title X require participants to comply with state and federal laws regarding the reporting of child sexual abuse — something Planned Parenthood has repeatedly violated.

Planned Parenthood Knows the ‘Red Flags’ of Abuse

Live Action and Live Action News have documented multiple criminal cases of adult predators who transported, paid for, or arranged abortion or birth control visits to Planned Parenthood for their young victims. When Planned Parenthood failed to file reports, the sexual abuse often continued.

But Planned Parenthood is aware of the “flags “indicating the potential sexual abuse of minors.

• One study published in 2011 by the Journal of Women’s Health found that “In national surveys, nearly 50% of sexually active adolescent females reported having a sex partner ≥2 years older, and 36% reported a partner ≥3 years older.” It also reported “that adolescent females who had a sex partner who was ≥6 years older had a pregnancy rate almost four times that of adolescent females with a similar-aged sex partner.”
• According to research published on Guttmacher’s website, “On average, young people in the United States have sex for the first time at about age 17….” Of those who are sexually active at a young age, additional data shows that young girls with a much older “romantic partner” are more likely to engage in sex.
• The former “special affiliate” to Planned Parenthood stated separately, “The typical age at which teens first have sex has remained relatively stable over the past several decades, increasing slightly to 17.8 for women and 18.1 for men in the most recent cohort for whom data are available.”

Planned Parenthood’s own glossary (accessed 3/20/25) defines statutory rape as “Legally, sexual contact between an adult and anyone who is below the age of consent, whether or not the contact is voluntary.”

The summaries below call into question the reasons why Planned Parenthood has at times not followed mandatory reporting statutes, despite the fact that federal programs funding Planned Parenthood require compliance with mandatory reporting statutes.

Planned Parenthood’s Failure to Report Child Sexual Abuse Leads to More Abuse

The selected cases listed below are a few of the actual cases Live Action News has documented. To read more cases, click here. 

• (Arizona) Shawn M. Stevens, 23, impregnated his 12-year-old victim twice, and sought abortions at Planned Parenthood for her. The lawsuit indicates that after he took the victim to Planned Parenthood for the first abortion, she was returned to her abuser. She suffered six more months of abuse, and became pregnant again by age 13. When a second abortion was sought at Planned Parenthood, authorities were notified. Stevens was reportedly sentenced in 2000 to five years in prison and lifetime probation. In 2002, a judge found Planned Parenthood negligent in the case, though it attempted to claim that “no reporting would have been required if she had been eight months older.”
• (California) Edgar Ramirez raped his 13-year-old daughter and impregnated her two times, resulting in two abortions at Planned Parenthood in 2010. According to court documents, rather than suspecting abuse when the victim presented to Planned Parenthood as pregnant, the abortionist committed the procedure and advised her not to have sex for three weeks. Ramirez resumed sex with the child anyway. Within months, she became pregnant again, resulting in a second Planned Parenthood abortion; the abortionist implanted an IUD after. Ramirez wasn’t arrested until after the child reported the abuse to the police. He was convicted of attempted murder, committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 15, possession of obscene matter depicting a minor, and two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14. He was sentenced to life in prison.
• (Colorado) Timothy David Smith impregnated his 13-year-old step-daughter, then took her to Planned Parenthood to cover his crime. A lawsuit filed against Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood showed that not one of the four staffers inquired about the circumstances of her pregnancy or verified her relationship with Smith, and no staff spoke to the victim about potential sexual abuse. During a deposition, one of the employees said “being 13 and pregnant alone is not a red flag” for possible abuse, in Planned Parenthood’s opinion. Months after the abortion, the abuse ended after the victim reported it to her mother.
• (Indiana) Christopher Jewell abused his stepdaughter for over three years, while she was between 13 and 16. The victim said he sexually assaulted her between 30 and 50 times, and took her to Planned Parenthood to get birth control pills without her mother’s knowledge. Jewell was not arrested for this, but was later arrested for taking the victim for a tattoo. While he was incarcerated, the victim told her boyfriend and mother that Jewell sexually abused her, and this was reported to authorities. Jewell was charged with multiple offenses and was sentenced to 40 years.
• (Ohio) John Haller, a 21-year-old adult soccer coach, victimized a 13-year-old child who became pregnant at 14. Haller posed as the victim’s step-brother when he took her to Planned Parenthood for an abortion, using “his credit card to pay for the abortion.” Planned Parenthood settled a lawsuit that was filed against them.
• (Washington State) George Edward Savanah sexually abused his 14-year-old daughter, impregnating her three times, then took her to two different Planned Parenthoods for abortions. The first abortion was in 2007 and the third abortion in 2012; for five years, she was abused, and Planned Parenthood failed to report it. The victim’s pregnancies only came to the attention of the authorities once the victim spoke to her aunt about the abuse, nearly seven years after she was taken for her first abortion.

 

Failure to report child sexual abuse (Live Action Investigations) 

Live Action investigations have repeatedly documented Planned Parenthood’s willingness to aid sex traffickers, willingness to commit sex-selective abortions, and much more. Live Action’s undercover investigative videos documented Planned Parenthood employees at 15 different facilities showing a willingness to cover up child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking.

Live Action’s Aiding Abusers investigative report and docuseries, which includes actual criminal cases and testimony from the attorney of two victims, exposed how Planned Parenthood covers up child sexual abuse.

All of these should disqualify Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding.

Live Action and Live Action News have documented multiple criminal cases in which sexually abused teens were taken to abortion businesses and Planned Parenthood facilities — sometimes out of state — to cover up rape. In addition, Live Action News has also documented individual predatory sexual abuse and harassment allegations among staffers associated with the abortion industry.

Other groups have found similar results.

In 2002, the pro-life organization Life Dynamics conducted an investigation (documented on ChildPredator.com and by this news reel from WB13, found on YouTube at Rosary Films) where they contacted hundreds of Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation clinics more than willing to coach their investigator — also posing as a minor — to hide potential sexual abuse of an adult male.

Sex Trafficked Victims Often Taken to Planned Parenthood

Live Action’s undercover investigations revealed Planned Parenthood employees at multiple facilities in several states willing to aid their investigators posing as “sex traffickers” by counseling them on how to get their victims tested for STIs, the best way for them to get abortions, and how to lie on forms about their victims’ ages.

• A Planned Parenthood employee in Richmond, Virginia told Live Action’s undercover investigators they could help young “sex workers” at the ages of 14 and 15 obtain abortions.
• A Bronx, New York, Planned Parenthood staffer told the undercover investigators, “Everything is confidential.” She then aided their sex trafficking scheme.
• In Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Planned Parenthood manager Amy Woodruff coached undercover “sex traffickers” how to secure secret abortions for the young teens. Woodruff hinted to the “pimp” that Planned Parenthood is “obligated, if we hear any certain information, to kind of report… 14 and under we have to report.”
• The Roanoke, Virginia, Planned Parenthood told the “pimp” and “prostitute” investigators they could pick up emergency contraception pills for their underage girls — another indication that Planned Parenthood has little concern about minors potentially being sexually abused and trafficked.

A 2014 sex trafficking study published by the Loyola University Chicago’s Beazley Institute, “The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking,” highlights how pimps force their victims to get abortions at Planned Parenthood so they can quickly get them back onto the streets. The report notes that survivors had “significant contact with clinical treatment facilities, most commonly Planned Parenthood.” In fact, the organization was the top-most visited facility for trafficking victims, second only to hospital emergency rooms.

One survivor quoted in the report said that the reason she was taken to Planned Parenthood was “because they didn’t ask any questions.”

In December of 2023, undercover video alleged to show Planned Parenthood’s willingness to assist a 13-year-old minor in crossing state lines to undergo an abortion without parental knowledge or consent — a term dubbed by some as abortion trafficking. The investigation took place in Missouri, where the state law says 13-year-olds can never consent to sex or abortions.

 

Sherlock Research investigates Planned Parenthood’s failure in mandatory reporting

In the State of New York, Sherlock Research found “New York officials, hiding behind ‘confidentiality’ concerns, refuse to say how many (or how few) times Planned Parenthood personnel and contractors have reported suspected victims of sexual abuse. We were able to obtain police records on virtually all the facilities where Planned Parenthood personnel and contractors have performed abortions, and many of the facilities where Planned Parenthood personnel and contractors have rendered [venereal disease] treatment or dispensed birth control. Over a decade, we found hardly any police reports made by Planned Parenthood personnel or contractors.”

In addition, Sherlock Research told Live Action it is estimated that “staffers of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri are essentially not reporting underage girls as sex offense victims, in apparent violation of Missouri and Illinois law.”

In the decade starting in 2010 and ending in 2019, Sherlock Research claimed in a report sent to Live Action, “Planned Parenthood of Illinois… made fewer than 20 reports in that decade to the police about sex abuse victims. These numbers cover the entire state – Chicago and all the other places in Illinois where Planned Parenthood has facilities.” Sherlock estimated that during this same time, Planned Parenthood saw thousands of minors for sexual health-related care.

“Illinois child protective services agents provided us a report showing Planned Parenthood personnel reported 42 children, 39 of them girls, age 15 or younger as suspected sex abuse victims from the start of 2010 thru the middle of 2022 for the entire state – Chicago and all the other places in Illinois where Planned Parenthood has facilities. Of these children, 35 were reported from the start of 2010 thru the end of 2019,” Sherlock Research added.

“Assuming none of the police reports and child protective service reports involved the same victims, this shows a Planned Parenthood mandated reporting rate of SEVEN potential victims per THOUSAND children 15 or younger for the decade 2010-2019,” Sherlock Research claimed.

Mandatory Requirements under Federal Programs

In the first installment of Live Action News’ REJECT Planned Parenthood series, we offered a glimpse into the organization’s founding under the leadership of Margaret Sanger, later referred to as a racist white supremacist. In part two of the series, we exposed Planned Parenthood’s insidious agenda to receive billions in taxpayer dollars under the guise of “family planning.” That program is known as Title X (pronounced “title ten”).

The Title X federal family planning program is administered through the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Title X makes it mandatory for recipients to report child sexual abuse, protect patient privacy, and refrain from discriminating based on race and other characteristics — all of which Planned Parenthood has failed to do.

Between 2022 and 2024, OPA allocated nearly $60 million to Planned Parenthood. Monies allocated are different from dollars sent to a Title X recipient during a specific year. (Read the breakdown of funding in this article.) A May 2008 presentation by Susan B. Moskosky, Director of the Office of Family Planning/Office of Population Affairs at HHS, also made it clear that Title X recipients are expected to report child sexual abuse.

As previously noted, OPA’s 2014 Title X Family Planning Guidelines stated that “all Title X providers must comply with State laws requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.” This was also found in the 2014 Program Requirements for Title X Funded Family Planning Projects.

A March 2016 Congressional Research Service report said that reporting suspicion of child sexual abuse is expected of Title X providers, saying that despite receiving confidential services, “Title X providers are not exempt from state notification and reporting laws on child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.”

OPA’s July 2022 Title X handbook states that “… no provider of services under title X of the PHS Act shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.” The updated handbook from December 2024 contains the same language:

… that amounts provided to said projects under such title shall not be expended for abortions, that all pregnancy counseling shall be nondirective, and that such amounts shall not be expended for any activity (including the publication or distribution of literature) that in any way tends to promote public support or opposition to any legislative proposal or candidate for public office.

Under the heading “Project Administration” in the 2022 and updated 2024 Title X handbook, it is also clear that recipients must protect patient privacy and they cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or sex, etc. Read more about that here.

2022 Title X Handbook requirements on reporting child sexual abuse, privacy, and discrimination

And as previously reported, an Office of Inspector General report published in 2020 stated that sexually transmitted diseases, as well as coding for “[e]ncounter for pregnancy test and childbirth and childcare instruction,” may be indicative of potential child abuse.

CMS Medicaid requirements on reporting child sexual abuse

Despite these very specific requirements, Planned Parenthood has repeatedly failed to report child sexual abuse, and has been accused of discrimination and failing to protect the private medical data of clients.

Penalties for Failure to Report Child Abuse

According to a report published by HHS’ Office of Administration for Children and Families, there are potential penalties for a failure to report child abuse:

• 92% of states have criminal penalties for failure to report child abuse and neglect, and 27% of states also have civil penalties.
• In addition, 13% of states have professional penalties, such as having professional licensure suspended or revoked.
• 58% of states have penalties for all mandated reporters who fail to report child maltreatment, 33% have penalties for all adults, and 10% of states have penalties for some mandated reporters.
• All states with universal mandated reporting specify penalties for failure to report. 87% of states without universal mandated reporting specify penalties for all mandated reporters for failure to report child abuse and neglect.

Regardless of criminal and civil penalties, disregarding mandatory reporting statutes should be cause to remove Planned Parenthood’s federal funding.