Planned Parenthood of Alabama Put on Probation; But More Evidence of Violations Found

The abortion provider seems to have run afoul of a couple different laws involving parental consent and mandatory reporting of sexual abuse. The probation lasts one year, but new revelations of the number of under-age abortions provided have fueled calls to go ahead and revoke Planned Parenthood's license now:

After the tape was released last year, state health inspectors reviewed clinic records and found that nine minors, ages 13-15, had received abortions without proper verification of parental consent since November 2008.

In one case, health officials said, a 15-year-old received an abortion even though the person claiming to be her mother did not appear to be and presented questionable records, including an expired Alabama driver’s license. Inspectors said Alabama birth records show a different person as the girl’s parent.

There were also concerns about reporting child abuse. One of the 13-year-olds who received an abortion reported starting having sex at age 12 and having three partners in the previous year. She was back at the clinic for another abortion four months later and said she had now had four sexual partners in her life.

Planned Parenthood of Alabama's troubles started when a student journalist posed as a pregnant 14 year-old trying to procure a "secret abortion."

More: And while we're on this rare subject, why not really push some buttons. A series of billboards in Georgia have raised objections from, well, I'm not sure. But they sure are controversial:

The group behind the billboard has some rather pointed things to say about Planned Parenthood:

The site charges that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, wanted to reduce the population of blacks.

One of its videos cites one of Sanger’s comments from an essay on birth control: “There is no doubt… that the procreation of this group should be stopped.”

In context, Sanger did not mention race. She openly advocated population control for the “irresponsible and reckless” and those whose “religious scruples” oppose small families. She also attacked this group as largely “diseased,” “feeble-minded” and “of the pauper element.”

Critics of the billboards complain that abortion is helping the black community get out of poverty. Really.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 12:00 PM

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