News

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The video-sharing platform YouTube has yanked from its site another video that exposed a Planned Parenthood's complicity in protecting perpetrators of child-rape. The video recorded by Live Action Films undercover investigator Lila Rose recorded staffers of a Birmingham Planned Parenthood stating their willingness to “bend the rules a little bit” and violate state laws requiring parental consent for a minor's abortion and mandatory reporting of child statutory rape.

The video in question has prompted Alabama's Attorney General's Office to investigate Planned Parenthood and its practices, but, according to Live Action Films, the student-based non-profit organization behind the exposé, YouTube gave them no explanation as to why they removed the film from their site or as to how the video violated YouTube's “community guidelines.”

“It is an outrage for YouTube to arbitrarily censor a video that has sparked a state investigation and national concern,” said Lila Rose, the 20-year-old President of Live-Action Films. “The people of Alabama and the public at large have a right to know how Planned Parenthood really treats vulnerable young girls.”

In the past YouTube has removed some videos posted by Live Action with little or no explanation, occasionally citing “terms of use” violations alleging that the video did not comply with YouTube's “community guidelines.” Such videos included one with a recording of Planned Parenthood employees expressing sympathy with donors, who explain that they are donating to the organization specifically to encourage the abortion of black babies.

In this particular video, a Planned Parenthood staffer named “Tanisha” assures Rose, posing undercover as a 14-year-old impregnated by her 31-year-old “boyfriend,” that “whatever you tell us stays within these walls.”

Tanisha tells Rose that the health manager of the abortion facility, Dr. Desiree Bates, “does bend the rules a little bit” regarding compliance with the state laws requiring them to report child-rape and parental consent laws. Tanisha told Rose that she did not need to get a parent's written consent, but that the facility needed someone with the same last name, either a grandparent or an older sister, to sign off if she did not want to have her parents informed.

“We can't say anything to your parents. Okay? It's the HIPAA [1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] law. Even if they call up here we cannot disclose any information to anybody. Okay?” said Tanisha.”

However according to the Health and Human Services, entities covered by HIPAA may “disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials for law enforcement purposes” under six circumstances, including “as required by law (including court orders, court-ordered warrants, subpoenas) and administrative requests,” and “by a covered health care provider in a medical emergency not occurring on its premises, when necessary to inform law enforcement about the commission and nature of a crime, the location of the crime or crime victims, and the perpetrator of the crime.”

The HSS summary of HIPAA also states, “In certain circumstances, covered entities may disclose protected health information to appropriate government authorities regarding victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.”

As Live Action points out, the Alabama Code requires law enforcement be contacted immediately upon the revelation of a sexual relationship between an adult and a child. Sexual intercourse between a 14-year-old and an adult constitutes a felony.

“Even as Planned Parenthood covers up sexual abuse and YouTube bans the evidence, we will continue to make the facts available to the public,” stated Rose. “Everyone should be allowed to view the footage and draw their own conclusions about illicit activity at Planned Parenthood.”

Scott Rubin, a spokesman for Google, which owns YouTube, told LifeSiteNews.com that he was unable to comment as to the specific reasons for removing the film on the basis that, “there are 20 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube.”

“We count on our community members to understand our Community Guidelines and to flag videos they believe violate the rules. We review all flagged videos quickly, and if we find that a video does break the rules, we remove it, usually in under an hour,” explained Rubin. “If given proper notice from users, we also may remove videos for invading another person's privacy or for violating copyright.” 

Live Action Films has made available a version of their sixth documented exposé of Planned Parenthood's complicity in covering up statutory rape at its website: https://liveaction.org/.

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

YouTube Blocks Videos Exposing Planned Parenthood's Support for Race-Selective Abortion

YouTube Yanks Video Exposing Obama's Abortion Extremism
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091912.html

Undercover Investigation Reveals Planned Parenthood's Racism
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022802.html