An investigation is underway in Virginia regarding claims that school staff members arranged and paid for abortions for students —and hid the information from their parents.
Key Takeaways:
- Centreville High School is accused of taking two female students for abortions without telling their parents in direct violation of Virginia’s parental notification law.
- Both students have alleged that social worker Carolina Diaz took them for abortions, and that principal Chad Lehman knew and allowed school funds to pay for them.
- One girl reportedly begged to keep her baby, but Diaz told her she “had no choice.” The girl, who was five months pregnant, fled that abortion facility and later confided in a teacher.
The Details:
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia told 7News reporter Nick Minock that it has launched an investigation into claims that school staff members allegedly arranged and paid for abortions for students without the knowledge of their parents.
According to reports, staff at Centreville High School took two girls for abortions without telling their parents, a direct violation of Virginia’s parental notification law. Both students were minors at the time, and they said the school principal, Chad Lehman, knew about the abortions and financed them with school funds.
In a statement to 7News, FCPS said, “We learned yesterday of these concerning allegations from 2021. We are launching an immediate and comprehensive investigation as we take all concerns of student wellbeing very seriously.”
The first student in question was 17 years old at the time of the abortion and handwrote a statement in Spanish. The English as a Second Language student said she underwent the abortion in November 2021 and that a school social worker, Carolina Diaz, scheduled the abortion and paid for it.
The second student was five months pregnant and begged to keep her baby. She ran from the abortion business after Diaz allegedly told her she “had no choice” but to have the abortion. The girl later told her teacher, Zenaida Perz, about the incident. Perz said that school administrators tried to keep her quiet and force her resignation.
“The girl never wanted that abortion, and her family was never told,” she said. The girl’s family confirmed in a recording that the school never told them about the abortion appointment. The W.C. Dispatch reported that it heard the recording from the parents and that it is “heartbreaking.”
FCPS policy states that “every effort shall be made to encourage and support students suspecting pregnancy to discuss their concerns with their parents or guardians.” However, it does not say that employees must inform parents of those conversations, though the law is clear that minors can’t have abortions without parental notification.
It states, “No physician shall knowingly perform an abortion, induce any miscarriage or terminate any pregnancy … upon an unemancipated woman under the age of eighteen years unless” he or she has given at least 24 hours notice of his intent to commit the abortion directly by phone to a parent, guardian, or appointed custodian.
The Bottom Line:
This isn’t the first time school officials have been accused of taking teens for abortions, and it’s possible that if two students have reported being taken for abortions by Diaz, there may be more.
“… [I]f two frightened teenagers can describe the same counselor, the same locked-door clinic, and the same hush-money trail, common sense says Centreville is nursing a deeper wound,” stated Walter Curt for the W.C. Dispatch. “How many daughters have already been shuttled through that bolted entrance on the taxpayers’ dime, their parents left out of the conversation until it was too late?”
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