If you’ve come here looking for a defense of the Memphis Planned Parenthood employee who broke the law by not reporting that a minor child was having sex with a 31-year-old, you can move along.
But if you’re looking for a defense of Planned Parenthood as an organization who should continue to receive federal funds to provide family planning services, to educate individuals about sex, STDs, and contraception, and to advocate on behalf of both men and women who do not have ready access to these services, then you’ve come to the right place.
Yesterday we interviewed Jeff Teague, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee and he confirmed what we knew all along – Planned Parenthood is indispensable and does good and useful work providing comprehensive sex education and complementary reproductive healthcare to individuals of all ages regardless of race, age, income status, religion or sexual orientation.
In the interview, Jeff tells us the real mission of the organization, dispels with quite a lot of misinformation, and shares with us the dangers inherent in SJR127 – the legislation that would amend the Tennessee constitution and get us one step closer to endangering the health of women in the state.
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This Thursday, April 23, is the PPMET Spring Luncheon, a benefit to support all the good work they do. More information is at plannedparenthood.org or call 615-345-0952.
Mary, there is actually quite an easy defense of the Planned Parenthood chapter that allegedly broke the law.
They didn’t actually break the law.
TN 37-1-602 is quite clear in its definition of child sexual abuse and who can be charged with it:
(D) For the purposes of the reporting, investigation, and treatment provisions of §§ 37-1-603 — 37-1-615 “child sexual abuse†also means the commission of any act specified in subdivisions (a)(3)(A)-(C) against a child thirteen (13) years of age through seventeen (17) years of age if such act is committed against the child by a parent, guardian, relative, person residing in the child’s home, or other person responsible for the care and custody of the child;
Again, assuming everything the girl said is true, it is not legally child sexual abuse.
Again assuming it’s true, it is aggravated statutory rape, but that DOES NOT fall under the required reporting law. Anything that is not required to be reported is covered under the patient’s right to privacy.
Planned Parenthood couldn’t legally report it if they wanted to any more than an ER doctor can force a woman to bring rape charges.
Thank you for the clarification!
Glad to help, Mary!
[...] and eventually eliminate the number of abortions in the state by allowing organizations such as Planned Parenthood to provide more family planning services and education to individuals who don’t normally have [...]
[...] Fowler and his ilk continue to ignore the good work that Planned Parenthood does to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in Tennessee which thereby reducing the number of [...]
[...] Fowler and his ilk continue to ignore the good work that Planned Parenthood does to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in Tennessee which thereby reducing the number of [...]