Planned Parenthood Fights to Do Secret Abortions on Teen Girls Without Parental Consent

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jun 14, 2017   |   3:04PM   |   Indianapolis, IN

Planned Parenthood lawyers argued in an Indiana court Tuesday that abortion clinics should be allowed to perform abortions on young girls without their parents’ knowledge.

In May, the abortion chain and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging a new Indiana parental consent law. It is scheduled to go into effect in July.

On Tuesday, lawyers for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky and the ACLU asked a federal judge to block the law, WISH TV reports.

They contended that young girls may seek abortions because of troubled or abusive home environments – an argument that does not make sense because the law allows a judge to wave the parental consent requirement in such cases.

The law strengthens current state laws regarding parental rights by requiring abortion providers to obtain proof of consent from a parent or legal guardian before a girl under 18 has an abortion. It gives parents/legal guardians a civil recourse if someone fraudulently poses as a parent in order for a minor girl to get an abortion. It also makes sure parents are involved if a minor appears before a judge to request an abortion without parental consent.

On Tuesday, the abortion activists’ lawyers argued that abortion clinics should not be required to check the parent’s or guardian’s ID and proof of guardianship before performing the abortion, according to the report.

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Planned Parenthood leaders claim this new requirement is burdensome, but its purpose is to protect young girls from abuse. Sexual abusers have been known to take their young victims to abortion clinics to cover up rape and pregnancy. The new requirement would help ensure abusers are not posing as their young victim’s parent or guardian.

The pro-abortion groups also are challenging a measure in the law that prohibits abortion clinics from telling young girls where to go in other states to get abortions without a parent’s knowledge.

In a statement in May, the ACLU of Indiana claimed the provisions violate young girls’ constitutional rights by imposing “new burdens” on their access to abortion.

The judge is expected to make a decision on the case by the end of the month.

Parental notification/parental consent laws have strong public support. Currently, 37 states require some type of parental involvement in a minor’s abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

However, Planned Parenthood, NARAL and other pro-abortion groups often lobby against parental involvement laws. They believe that underage girls should be able to abort their unborn babies in a dangerous surgical or drug-induced abortion procedure without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

In 2013, Planned Parenthood also filed a lawsuit in Montana to overturn its parental involvement requirements.

Parental involvement laws can help protect young women from abusive situations. Sexual abusers have been known to take their young victims to abortion clinics when they become pregnant.

In 2008, a Planned Parenthood in Bloomington, Indiana was exposed for agreeing to help cover up the sexual abuse of a minor in an undercover sting.

In another case in Ohio, Planned Parenthood faced a lawsuit after it failed to report the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl. The girl’s soccer coach got her pregnant and then took her to the abortion clinic to cover up the abuse, LifeNews reported.