Can you imagine the media outcry if any reporter in the print or electronic media found out that a Catholic bishop arranged for an underage girl to have an abortion after she had been impregnated by a priest? And what if that same bishop failed to report the sexual abuse to civil authorities? My guess is that such a story would appear on the front page of most major newspapers in the country, and it would be one of the top stories on the networks news broadcasts.
The coverage would not only focus on the hypocrisy of arranging for an abortion, which the Catholic Church considers a heinous sin, but the bishop, and rightfully so, would be pilloried by the media for covering up a crime, statutory rape.
Unfortunately, most of the media is ignoring what has been a major story for years, and that is the failure of workers at Planned Parenthood clinics to report cases of statutory rape to civil authorities when underage girls go to their facilities for abortions and contraceptives. Many of the these workers know that these young girls are having sex with adult males, but refuse to report it.
In recent weeks, very few media outlets have reported that Planned Parenthood workers in New Jersey and New York were discovered advising people working undercover for a pro-life group how to get around child sex laws. In a sense, the employees were helping the couple excuse and cover up underage sex trafficking as the pro-life people were representing themselves as a pimp and underage prostitute. The undercover video these pro-life activists took appeared on some news outlets, but not many.
The Planned Parenthood employees in these instances were fired, but the reports tended to ignore that Planned Parenthood appears to have repeatedly failed to meet mandatory reporting requirements in most states for many years. Just about every state has mandatory reporting laws that require social workers, teachers, physicians, health care workers in general, child care providers and even clergy to report any suspected child abuse, including sexual abuse, to law enforcement officials. The employees at all Planned Parenthood facilities would be considered health care workers since these outlets provide a variety of health services
Unlike many in the media, I am not capable of reading other people's minds and hearts, and so I can't say exactly why many in the media ignore what should be a major story. I can suspect that an overwhelming number of reporters in the media today support what Planned Parenthood does, and this support just might influence their decision to downplay the story if not ignore it completely.
For years, reporters with whom I have worked have heard me say that there are too many advocates in the news media and precious few journalists. This situation with Planned Parenthood may just be another example of how advocacy in the media skews the news the public receives.
Since Planned Parenthood accepts tax payer money, the public has the right to know when the organization breaks the law. Unfortunately, too many advocates in the media don't think so.
isn't there specific monies allotted for this "family planning" types of activities in the new healthcare law?
ReplyDelete