Victory for Live Action in Alabama

The State of Alabama has placed Planned Parenthood of Birmingham on probation after Lila Rose and Live Action exposed their failure to obey the law.

From the AP:

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—A Birmingham abortion clinic that was targeted in an undercover sting by anti-abortion activists has been put on probation by state health officials.

State inspectors, who went to the Planned Parenthood clinic after the sting by the anti-abortion group "Live Action," cited problems with the reporting of suspected sexual abuse and how parental consent was obtained for minors.

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"We have seen this across the country in our investigative work and released videos from several other states showing the same activity," Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said during break from classes at UCLA. The 21-year-old history major played the part of the pregnant teen at the Birmingham clinic. She said her group applauds the state's efforts but feels the probation was too lenient.

After the tape was released last year, state health inspectors reviewed clinic records and found that nine minors, ages 13-15, had received abortions without proper verification of parental consent since November 2008.

In one case, health officials said, a 15-year-old received an abortion even though the person claiming to be her mother did not appear to be and presented questionable records, including an expired Alabama driver's license. Inspectors said Alabama birth records show a different person as the girl's parent.

There were also concerns about reporting child abuse. One of the 13-year-olds who received an abortion reported starting having sex at age 12 and having three partners in the previous year. She was back at the clinic for another abortion four months later and said she had now had four sexual partners in her life.

"A reasonable person would suspect abuse or neglect of this 13-year-old child, based on the above," inspectors wrote. "Neither the Registered Nurse, the Medical Doctor, nor any other Center staff reported the suspected abuse or neglect to the authorities as required by law."