Politics

Vermont Gov Praises Planned Parenthood Despite Child Rape Coverups

Tristyn Bloom Contributor
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Vermont’s governor, Democrat Pete Shumlin, was proud to receive Planned Parenthood’s endorsement last week and praised them for their “extraordinary work”– apparently forgetting the willingness of PP clinics in his own state to cover up rape and child abuse.

“Vermont is unusual,” he said. “We should be blessed to live here with a Planned Parenthood that does such extraordinary work and a legislature that will stand behind you.”

Shumlin may have forgotten about the 2002 investigation exposing Planned Parenthood’s willingness to cover for child molesters. Pro-life group Life Dynamics called PP clinics throughout the country, including 12 in Vermont, posing as 13- and 14-year-old girls who’d been impregnated by 22-year-old men asking for abortions.

The age of consent in Vermont is 16, with exceptions for married couples, or if both partners are between and ages of 15 and 19. This means that in every case, the group was informing Planned Parenthood workers of rape. (RELATED: Planned Parenthood Failed To Report A Child Rapist, Who Then Assaulted More Girls)

Mandated reporters in the state of Vermont, who are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect to Family Services, include “chiropractors, dentists, emergency medical personnel, licensed practical nurses, medical examiners, mental health professionals, osteopaths, pharmacists, physicians, physicians’ assistants, psychologists, registered nurses, surgeons, and any other health care providers.” (RELATED: Colorado Attorney General To Investigate Planned Parenthood For Child Abuse)

Vermont law does not require parents be notified if their underage daughter wants an abortion; however, mandated reporters are required to report rape, abuse, and sexual assault to the proper authorities.

“I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend said that you guys would have to tell my parents,” one investigator told a clinic worker from Bennington, VT. “But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he just sign whatever it is, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody about anything?”

Right now I don’t think we have to notify your parents,” the worker responded.

“Me and my boyfriend talked about all this,” the girl reiterated, “and we don’t want anybody to know about us. … Would you have to tell anybody if he was paying for everything?”

OK. Yeah, that’s OK. … As long as you can pay for it, that’s not a problem.” the worker responded. (RELATED: Planned Parenthood Has Abortion Quotas, Says Former Clinic Director)

Far from an isolated incident, a clinic worker in Brattleboro, VT. also told an underage girl her rape would be kept private. “It’s just me and my boyfriend were talking about all this, and we decided we don’t want a whole bunch of people to know about us,” the girl, also posing as 13, said.

“You’re fine. Nobody — it’s a confidential,” the worker replied.

To their credit, the clinic in Rutland, VT did inform the girl they’d be required to report the rape. “Well, if you’re 13 now and your boyfriend is 22, technically that’s — I mean, we would have to report that,” the worker said. When the girl said she didn’t want her boyfriend to get in trouble, the worker told her that “it’s up to you what you do. You don’t have to come in. You didn’t even have to tell my who your boyfriend was or how old he was or anything like that. Those were choices that you just made.”

The worker then tells her that if she came in for a pregnancy test  and wasn’t pregnant, she could get birth control, and no one would have to know about the man nine years her senior sexually abusing her.

The group has also documented dozens of cases of men prosecuted for rape after underage girls had been taken to clinics for abortions whose assaults went unreported by abortion providers. In many of these cases, the sexual abuse continued after the abortion.

In one recent case in Indiana, “In 2006, [Nathaniel] Jeffers, 24, began having sex with his girlfriend’s nine-year-old daughter. At the age of 11, she became pregnant and her mother took her to have an abortion. Court documents show that “Darcy’s” mother was aware that her daughter was being sexually abused by Jeffers but, in order to protect him, she instructed the child to say that a teenage boy was responsible for the pregnancy. It is clear the clinic did not make a report since Jeffers continued to rape Darcy until she was 13 and alerted the police.”

There are many more stories, all equally — and some more — horrifying.

While the Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund proudly touted its endorsements, and despite his warm words for the group, Gov. Shumlin has not posted about it on his Facebook page nor on his Twitter feed.

Shumlin, who has been governor since 2011 and is currently running for his third term against Republican challenger Scott Milne, has not responded to requests for comment.

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