Planned Parenthood Attempting to Silence Ex-Director Who Quit Abortion Business

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 4, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Planned Parenthood Attempting to Silence Ex-Director Who Quit Abortion Business

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 4
, 2009

Bryan, TX (LifeNews.com) — Planned Parenthood is attempting to silence a former abortion center director who quit working for the abortion business after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion procedure. Officials with the group are pushing a request for a restraining order on Abby Johnson and a pro-life group that helped her conversion.

Johnson had been the director of the Planned Parenthood center in this southeast Texas city that is home to Texas A&M University.

She turned in her resignation on October 6 after years of a local pro-life group helping her see the problem with abortion. After the ultrasound, she decided to leave.

"I just thought I can’t do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that’s it," she said.

Now, Planned Parenthood officials have hit both Johnson and the Coalition for Life with restraining orders requiring them not to disclose information about the abortions done at its facility.

They don’t want Johnson to release any records or confidential information from her eight-year stint at the Planned Parenthood abortion business, even though she has already told media outlets she will not do so.

District Judge J.D. Langley signed the request for a temporary injunction on Friday and a followup hearing is scheduled for November 10. The injunction prevents Johnson from releasing any information she obtained from Planned Parenthood — at least until the hearing.

Coalition Director Shawn Carney called Planned Parenthood’s actions unnecessary and an overreaction and said there is no effort to release confidential records.

But Planned Parenthood attorneys claim Johnson was seen copying confidential files and records shortly before her resignation and the former director told The Eagle newspaper that she hasn’t given any documents to the pro-life group.

"I didn’t provide any because I don’t have any," she said.

Johnson told The Eagle that Planned Parenthood is likely worried about how she could expose the profit motive behind the abortion industry.

"Definitely the most lucrative part of their business was abortions," she said. "One of the things that kept coming up was how family planning services were really dragging down the budget, and family planning services include education about contraceptives. It was a drain on the budget, but abortion services were really running up the budget and that was keeping the center afloat."

But Planned Parenthood claims a nurse practitioner at the abortion center says Johnson gave the pro-life group a document with her name and phone number on it.

Johnson has also said she was told to bring in more women for abortions — something that contradicted her Episcopalian upbringing.

"I feel so pure in heart (since leaving). I don’t have this guilt, I don’t have this burden on me anymore that’s how I know this conversion was a spiritual conversion," she said.

Johnson said she will now work with the Coalition For Life and has been meeting with Carney and been seen outside the Planned Parenthood helping women find alternatives.

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