A stunning videotape appears to show a staffer at Planned Parenthood Los
Angeles advising a woman whom she thought to be a 15-year-old girl to
conceal a statutory rape.
The episode has been reported on outlets such as
CNSNews.com,
LifeNews.com, and
WorldNetDaily. And although the story has taken place in Los
Angeles and adjacent Santa Monica, one place you won't read
about the details is in the Los Angeles Times. They have not
published a single syllable on the story.
The hero of the story is Lila Rose, an 18-year-old student at UCLA and
founder of a pro-life magazine called
The Advocate.
From a press release (May 15, 2007):
[Lila] ... posed as a 15-year-old pregnant girl at a Planned
Parenthood clinic in Santa Monica. Rose was accompanied by James
O’Keefe, who acted as her 23-year-old boyfriend. In a recorded
conversation, the employee encouraged Rose to invent a birthday to
allow Planned Parenthood to avoid reporting a case of statutory
rape.
"If you’re 15, we have to report it. If you’re not, if you’re
older than that, then we don’t need to," the employee said. "Okay,
but if I just say I’m not 15, then it’s different?" Rose asked. The
employee responded, "You could say 16…well, just figure out a birth
date that works. And I don’t know anything."
"Planned Parenthood has been concealing statutory rape and child
abuse cases for years," Rose said. "This video reveals what really
goes on behind closed doors in Planned Parenthood’s abortion
clinics."
In its
original reporting, The Advocate published portions of California
penal codes
11165.1 and
11165.7, which discuss sexual abuse and mandatory reporting.
Videos of the encounter are available at CNSNews.com. (They are no
longer viewable on YouTube.)
There is also the news that Planned Parenthood has threatened to sue Ms.
Rose. (Ms. Rose has provided
a
scan of a letter she received.)
Prediction: The Times will continue to ignore this big local (and
national) story ... or ... (Less likely:) They will report the story but
focus its attention on Rose's videotaping rather than the egregious
actions of Planned Parenthood. Your guess? (You can factor in the Times'
history of covering (or not covering) the abortion issue and Planned
Parenthood. (See this,
this,
this,
this, and
this
for just a few examples.))