Cynthia A. Janak
Planned Parenthood - - legal or illegal, you decide
By Cynthia A. Janak
There is this heated, ongoing debate about the practices of Planned Parenthood and the right of the woman to choose or not to choose that is the question. You have two distinct groups of people that advocate each side. Both groups are sincere in their opposing positions and in my opinion make valid statements to each. I respect that.
My opinion on this is that a woman should have the right to choose in the cases of incest, rape and medical emergency to the woman. I do not feel that a woman should be forced to carry a baby to term under these specific instances. But, if the woman is unsure about abortion they should be encouraged to carry the baby to term and give the baby up for adoption. There are many couples in the United States today that have not been blessed with a child of their own and would be ecstatic to become adoptive parents.
I promote adoption because I am an adoptee. It was a great feeling for me to know as a young child that my parents thought that I was special enough to choose me. They have both passed on but I still think very fondly about all that they were able to provide for me. We did not have a lot but there sure was an abundance of love.
Now on to what I do best and that is digging for the truth.
As you noticed I highlighted the word woman. That is because in the documents that I am going to reference will define this word. This is very important in the Practices of Planned Parenthood and who they are legally able to serve and in what capacity.
The reason that I am writing this article about Planned Parenthood is that there is a heated debate going on in the city of Aurora, Illinois and the residents. The residents oppose having this facility in their city and there are documents available that the builder of this facility may have falsified said documents as to who the occupant would be.
This is what the Planned Parenthood site has to say about this location.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/findCenterProcess.asp
Aurora Health Center- This Center is NOW OPEN!
3051 East New York Street
Aurora, IL 60504
(630) 585-0500
Download this Coupon and Get $5-Off on Your 1st Visit!
Monday — Closed
Tuesday 9:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesday 10:00am to 5pm
Thursday 11:00am to 7:00pm
Friday 7:00am to 3:00pm
Saturday 8:00am to 3:00pm
For more information visit http://www.auroraplannedparenthood.org/
*Emergency Contraception (EC) is now available Over the Counter for women 18 and older, and by prescription for teens under 18 at all Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area health centers, including weekend and evening hours.
What made me chuckle when I saw this was that they are offering a $5.00 off coupon. This made me think of a Jewel grocery store ad or Target ad. I thought this was supposed to be a medical facility not a department store.
Then it tells me that it will provide prescriptions to females under the age of 18 because they are not old enough to get the over the counter drugs. Question: Is this circumventing some laws somewhere? I see no mention of any parental involvement here.
On to a different section of the Planned Parenthood site where there is a report called
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/Annual_report.pdf
In the first paragraph under the heading Advocating in Washington and the States a statement is made. "As a result, in August the FDA finally granted over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception for women 18 and older."
What this does is establish that Planned Parenthood believes that the age of a woman is 18 and older. It is my opinion that a young person that is 18 and older should be able to make decisions that would impact their lives. I believe this because at the age of 18 they are able to make the decision to join our armed services to defend the United States and give their lives for us.
There is another topic on the site called "Choosing Abortion." This is where the word woman gets complicated. This is what it states,
"The most common reasons a woman chooses abortion are
On to items 4 and 5, they tell me that they are dealing with individuals that could be under the age of 18. Item 4 tells me that the individual is scared to let her friends or family know that she is having sex. That sounds like a child to me.
Item 5 tells me that the person is a child or a handicapped adult because of the immaturity involved in this statement. No illusion on this one.
A subsection under this title is called, "Deciding If Abortion Is Right For You." This section defines what a female under the age of 18 can do if they seek to have an abortion without parental consent.
"Teens are encouraged to involve parents in their decision to have an abortion, and most do have a parent involved. But telling a parent is only required in states with mandatory parental involvement laws. Such laws force a woman under 18 to tell a parent or get parental permission before having an abortion. In most of these states, if she can't talk with her parents — or chooses not to — she can appear before a judge."
I underlined "she can appear before a judge" because according to Illinois law this is a requirement for someone under the age of 18.
I am going to reference Illinois Compiled Statutes (750 ILCS 70/) Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.
750 ILCS 70/25
Sec. 25. Procedure for judicial waiver of notice.
(a) The requirements and procedures under this Section are available to minors and incompetent persons whether or not they are residents of this State.
(b) The minor or incompetent person may petition any circuit court for a waiver of the notice requirement and may participate in proceedings of her own behalf. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for her. Any guardian ad litem appointed under this Act shall act to maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings. The circuit court shall advise her that she has a right to court-appointed counselan1d shall provide her with counsel upon her request......
(d) Notice shall be waived if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence either:
(1) that the minor or incompetent person is sufficiently mature and well enough informed to decide intelligently whether to have an abortion, or
(2) that notification under Section 15 of this Act would not be in the best interests of the minor or incompetent person.
750 ILCS 70/15
Sec. 15. Notice to adult family member. No person shall knowingly perform an abortion upon a minor or upon an incompetent person unless the physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours actual notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person of his or her intention to perform the abortion, unless that person or his or her agent has received a written statement by a referring physician certifying that the referring physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person. If actual notice is not possible after a reasonable effort, the physician or his or her agent must give 48 hours constructive notice.
750 ILCS 70/40
Sec. 40 Penalties.
(a) Any physician who willfully fails to provide notice as required under this Act before performing an abortion on a minor or an incompetent person shall be referred to the Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Board for action in accordance with Section 22 of the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
(b) Any person, not authorized under this act, who signs any waiver of notice for a minor or incompetent person seeking an abortion, is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 89-18, eff. 6-1-95)
750 ILCS 70/10
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of a child1d after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus
"Adult family member" means a person over 21 years of age who is the parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian.
Constructive notice" means notice by certified mail to the last known address of the person entitled to notice with delivery deemed to have occurred 48 hours after the certified notice is mailed.
"Medical Emergency" means a condition that, on the basis of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.
"Minor" means any person under 18 years of age who is not or has not been married or who has not been emancipated under the Emancipation of Minors Act.
What all these statutes mean is that Planned Parenthood, by law, cannot perform an abortion upon any female under the age of 18 unless they determine that a medical emergency exists or they send a written notice to the adult family member 48 hours prior to the abortion or they receive a circuit court document stating that the notice requirement shall be waived
Now there are some exceptions to these rules that I find interesting. What I am going to do here is put the explanations in red. Items in red are not in the original text of the Statute.
750 ILCS 70/20
Sec. 220. Exceptions. Notice shall not be required under this Act if:
(1) the minor or incompetent person is accompanied by a person entitled to notice; (Adult family member — parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian) or
(2) notice is waived in writing by a person who is entitled to notice; (Adult family member — parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian) or
(3) the attending physician certified in the patient's medical record that a medical emergency exists and there is insufficient time to provide the required notice; (avert death or serious bodily injury) or,
(4) the minor declares in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by an adult family member as defined in this Act. The attending physician must certify in the patient's medical record that he or she has received the written declaration of abuse or neglect. Any notification of public authorities of abuse that may be required under other laws of this State need not be made by the person performing the abortion until after the minor receives an abortion that otherwise complies with the requirements of this Act; (after the abortion the person that performs the abortion is required by law to report the procedure to the authorities as sexual child abuse) or
(5) notice is waived under Section 25.
Illinois Statutes do define who are required to report any possible cases of abuse. In Statute 325 ILCS 5/4 there is a huge list of who is required to report. In that list it states
Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged communications; transmitting false report. Any physician, resident, intern, hospital, hospital administrator and personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of persons, surgeon,...
I want to highlight here that it states any physician...and personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of persons,... This would mean that the personnel of any Planned Parenthood facility are required by law to report any abortion of a minor to the proper authorities.
From what I have read and listened to about Planned Parenthood it seems as if they feel that they are above the law in their lack of reporting abortions on minors under the age of 18.
This new facility in Aurora, Illinois should not be allowed to open its doors until a Congressional investigation is done by the State of Illinois into the practices of this organization.
My questions to Planned Parenthood personnel are:
Do you verify that the adult that is accompanying the female is in reality a family member as defined by law?
Do you verify the age of the female that is coming in for the procedure to be, in fact, over the age of 18 which is allowable by law?
If the female is, indeed, under the age of 18 do you report the female and the fact that you did the abortion to the proper authorities for sexual abuse as is required by law?
Do you keep documented proof, such as a photo ID, SSN and birth certificate in the patients files to verify that the information the female is giving you is indeed the truth? If so, are you willing to produce said documents to the proper investigating authorities?
My suggestion to the City of Aurora is to have an independent person or persons, which represent the city, stationed at the facility to verify the age of the patients and that the laws of the State of Illinois are being adhered to. Then to eventually cause this facility to close its doors and open it up as a recreation center for minors and provide the resources necessary so teen promiscuity does not increase in your fair city.
My question to you is who do you think Planned Parenthood is serving?
As with everything that I write, please do you your own due diligence and research the facts. Educate yourselves to what the law really says and not what someone is telling you. Call your elected officials. Let your voice be heard on the topics that concern you and your family. I am sure that they would want to hear from you.
My prayers are for you and your family. May God bless you.
© Cynthia A. Janak
There is this heated, ongoing debate about the practices of Planned Parenthood and the right of the woman to choose or not to choose that is the question. You have two distinct groups of people that advocate each side. Both groups are sincere in their opposing positions and in my opinion make valid statements to each. I respect that.
My opinion on this is that a woman should have the right to choose in the cases of incest, rape and medical emergency to the woman. I do not feel that a woman should be forced to carry a baby to term under these specific instances. But, if the woman is unsure about abortion they should be encouraged to carry the baby to term and give the baby up for adoption. There are many couples in the United States today that have not been blessed with a child of their own and would be ecstatic to become adoptive parents.
I promote adoption because I am an adoptee. It was a great feeling for me to know as a young child that my parents thought that I was special enough to choose me. They have both passed on but I still think very fondly about all that they were able to provide for me. We did not have a lot but there sure was an abundance of love.
Now on to what I do best and that is digging for the truth.
As you noticed I highlighted the word woman. That is because in the documents that I am going to reference will define this word. This is very important in the Practices of Planned Parenthood and who they are legally able to serve and in what capacity.
The reason that I am writing this article about Planned Parenthood is that there is a heated debate going on in the city of Aurora, Illinois and the residents. The residents oppose having this facility in their city and there are documents available that the builder of this facility may have falsified said documents as to who the occupant would be.
This is what the Planned Parenthood site has to say about this location.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/findCenterProcess.asp
Aurora Health Center- This Center is NOW OPEN!
3051 East New York Street
Aurora, IL 60504
(630) 585-0500
Download this Coupon and Get $5-Off on Your 1st Visit!
Monday — Closed
Tuesday 9:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesday 10:00am to 5pm
Thursday 11:00am to 7:00pm
Friday 7:00am to 3:00pm
Saturday 8:00am to 3:00pm
For more information visit http://www.auroraplannedparenthood.org/
*Emergency Contraception (EC) is now available Over the Counter for women 18 and older, and by prescription for teens under 18 at all Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area health centers, including weekend and evening hours.
What made me chuckle when I saw this was that they are offering a $5.00 off coupon. This made me think of a Jewel grocery store ad or Target ad. I thought this was supposed to be a medical facility not a department store.
Then it tells me that it will provide prescriptions to females under the age of 18 because they are not old enough to get the over the counter drugs. Question: Is this circumventing some laws somewhere? I see no mention of any parental involvement here.
On to a different section of the Planned Parenthood site where there is a report called
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/Annual_report.pdf
In the first paragraph under the heading Advocating in Washington and the States a statement is made. "As a result, in August the FDA finally granted over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception for women 18 and older."
What this does is establish that Planned Parenthood believes that the age of a woman is 18 and older. It is my opinion that a young person that is 18 and older should be able to make decisions that would impact their lives. I believe this because at the age of 18 they are able to make the decision to join our armed services to defend the United States and give their lives for us.
There is another topic on the site called "Choosing Abortion." This is where the word woman gets complicated. This is what it states,
"The most common reasons a woman chooses abortion are
- She is not ready to become a parent.
- She cannot afford a baby.
- She doesn't want to be a single parent.
- She doesn't want anyone to know she has had sex or is pregnant.
- She is too young or too immature to have a child.
- She has all the children she wants.
- Her husband, partner, or parent wants her to have an abortion.
- She or the fetus has a health problem
- She was a survivor of rape or incest."
On to items 4 and 5, they tell me that they are dealing with individuals that could be under the age of 18. Item 4 tells me that the individual is scared to let her friends or family know that she is having sex. That sounds like a child to me.
Item 5 tells me that the person is a child or a handicapped adult because of the immaturity involved in this statement. No illusion on this one.
A subsection under this title is called, "Deciding If Abortion Is Right For You." This section defines what a female under the age of 18 can do if they seek to have an abortion without parental consent.
"Teens are encouraged to involve parents in their decision to have an abortion, and most do have a parent involved. But telling a parent is only required in states with mandatory parental involvement laws. Such laws force a woman under 18 to tell a parent or get parental permission before having an abortion. In most of these states, if she can't talk with her parents — or chooses not to — she can appear before a judge."
I underlined "she can appear before a judge" because according to Illinois law this is a requirement for someone under the age of 18.
I am going to reference Illinois Compiled Statutes (750 ILCS 70/) Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.
750 ILCS 70/25
Sec. 25. Procedure for judicial waiver of notice.
(a) The requirements and procedures under this Section are available to minors and incompetent persons whether or not they are residents of this State.
(b) The minor or incompetent person may petition any circuit court for a waiver of the notice requirement and may participate in proceedings of her own behalf. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for her. Any guardian ad litem appointed under this Act shall act to maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings. The circuit court shall advise her that she has a right to court-appointed counselan1d shall provide her with counsel upon her request......
(d) Notice shall be waived if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence either:
(1) that the minor or incompetent person is sufficiently mature and well enough informed to decide intelligently whether to have an abortion, or
(2) that notification under Section 15 of this Act would not be in the best interests of the minor or incompetent person.
750 ILCS 70/15
Sec. 15. Notice to adult family member. No person shall knowingly perform an abortion upon a minor or upon an incompetent person unless the physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours actual notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person of his or her intention to perform the abortion, unless that person or his or her agent has received a written statement by a referring physician certifying that the referring physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person. If actual notice is not possible after a reasonable effort, the physician or his or her agent must give 48 hours constructive notice.
750 ILCS 70/40
Sec. 40 Penalties.
(a) Any physician who willfully fails to provide notice as required under this Act before performing an abortion on a minor or an incompetent person shall be referred to the Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Board for action in accordance with Section 22 of the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
(b) Any person, not authorized under this act, who signs any waiver of notice for a minor or incompetent person seeking an abortion, is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 89-18, eff. 6-1-95)
750 ILCS 70/10
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of a child1d after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus
"Adult family member" means a person over 21 years of age who is the parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian.
Constructive notice" means notice by certified mail to the last known address of the person entitled to notice with delivery deemed to have occurred 48 hours after the certified notice is mailed.
"Medical Emergency" means a condition that, on the basis of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.
"Minor" means any person under 18 years of age who is not or has not been married or who has not been emancipated under the Emancipation of Minors Act.
What all these statutes mean is that Planned Parenthood, by law, cannot perform an abortion upon any female under the age of 18 unless they determine that a medical emergency exists or they send a written notice to the adult family member 48 hours prior to the abortion or they receive a circuit court document stating that the notice requirement shall be waived
Now there are some exceptions to these rules that I find interesting. What I am going to do here is put the explanations in red. Items in red are not in the original text of the Statute.
750 ILCS 70/20
Sec. 220. Exceptions. Notice shall not be required under this Act if:
(1) the minor or incompetent person is accompanied by a person entitled to notice; (Adult family member — parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian) or
(2) notice is waived in writing by a person who is entitled to notice; (Adult family member — parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the household or legal guardian) or
(3) the attending physician certified in the patient's medical record that a medical emergency exists and there is insufficient time to provide the required notice; (avert death or serious bodily injury) or,
(4) the minor declares in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by an adult family member as defined in this Act. The attending physician must certify in the patient's medical record that he or she has received the written declaration of abuse or neglect. Any notification of public authorities of abuse that may be required under other laws of this State need not be made by the person performing the abortion until after the minor receives an abortion that otherwise complies with the requirements of this Act; (after the abortion the person that performs the abortion is required by law to report the procedure to the authorities as sexual child abuse) or
(5) notice is waived under Section 25.
Illinois Statutes do define who are required to report any possible cases of abuse. In Statute 325 ILCS 5/4 there is a huge list of who is required to report. In that list it states
Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged communications; transmitting false report. Any physician, resident, intern, hospital, hospital administrator and personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of persons, surgeon,...
I want to highlight here that it states any physician...and personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of persons,... This would mean that the personnel of any Planned Parenthood facility are required by law to report any abortion of a minor to the proper authorities.
From what I have read and listened to about Planned Parenthood it seems as if they feel that they are above the law in their lack of reporting abortions on minors under the age of 18.
This new facility in Aurora, Illinois should not be allowed to open its doors until a Congressional investigation is done by the State of Illinois into the practices of this organization.
My questions to Planned Parenthood personnel are:
Do you verify that the adult that is accompanying the female is in reality a family member as defined by law?
Do you verify the age of the female that is coming in for the procedure to be, in fact, over the age of 18 which is allowable by law?
If the female is, indeed, under the age of 18 do you report the female and the fact that you did the abortion to the proper authorities for sexual abuse as is required by law?
Do you keep documented proof, such as a photo ID, SSN and birth certificate in the patients files to verify that the information the female is giving you is indeed the truth? If so, are you willing to produce said documents to the proper investigating authorities?
My suggestion to the City of Aurora is to have an independent person or persons, which represent the city, stationed at the facility to verify the age of the patients and that the laws of the State of Illinois are being adhered to. Then to eventually cause this facility to close its doors and open it up as a recreation center for minors and provide the resources necessary so teen promiscuity does not increase in your fair city.
My question to you is who do you think Planned Parenthood is serving?
As with everything that I write, please do you your own due diligence and research the facts. Educate yourselves to what the law really says and not what someone is telling you. Call your elected officials. Let your voice be heard on the topics that concern you and your family. I am sure that they would want to hear from you.
My prayers are for you and your family. May God bless you.
© Cynthia A. Janak
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