Utah parental consent law prevents rapist from getting victim an abortion at Planned Parenthood

A 34-year-old Utah man has been arrested for raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter on multiple occasions. After getting the teen pregnant, the man attempted to obtain an abortion for her at three Planned Parenthood facilities in the state to cover up his crime. When that failed, he attempted to give her a drink to induce a miscarriage. The man also admitted to raping the teen on average once or twice monthly for a year. He faces 12 counts of rape.

Utah is unfavorably rated by NARAL as “severely restricted” with regard to abortion access, but this fact may very well have spared this teen from enduring rape for an even longer period of time. Thanks to a state law requiring parental consent and notification, Planned Parenthood was required to refuse an abortion for the teen.

While Planned Parenthood’s website makes it sound as if the organization encourages parental involvement in a teen’s life, Planned Parenthood’s political arm, Planned Parenthood Action, fights tooth and nail against parental consent and notification laws like Utah’s (for example, in Indiana, where Planned Parenthood is suing the state for enacting such a law) — laws which lead to victims being rescued from their assailants, instead of being left in their clutches.

READ: Fight over Indiana parental consent law proves Planned Parenthood is not a friend to parents

Former Planned Parenthood staffer Ramona Trevino wrote recently that Planned Parenthood “tells the public that it really cares about parental involvement and even abstinence, but that’s all a ruse.” She explained further:

While thankfully, this teen was spared further victimization because Planned Parenthood was forced to obey a law which it opposed, the organization has a long history of not helping women and girls, by covering up sex trafficking and sexual abuse, by giving women misleading medical information, and by giving teens disturbing advice on sex.

Currently, there is an effort underway in the U.S. Senate to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). The Graham-Cassidy-Heller Amendment would allow states a choice in whether to use federal money to create their own insurance plans or to stick with the current offerings. The amendment, according to Live Action News’ Susan Michelle Hanson, “would [also] prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving any government reimbursements as long as the abortion corporation is committing abortions… [and would] prohibit tax credits for insurance plans covering abortions.”

In an email this week, Live Action president Lila Rose urged pro-lifers to contact their U.S. senators “and tell them to vote for the Graham-Cassidy reconciliation bill which ends Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding for the next year.”