ARTICLES
December 2002 ARTICLES
Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
All Out Assault
Planned Parenthood Had Better Beware
By Maria Elena Kennedy
Frustrated with what he described as "stonewalling" by California attorney general Bill Lockyer, attorney Rich Ackerman of the United States Justice Foundation considered initiating litigation in order to secure a copy of a pending legal opinion by the California state attorney general. The opinion, requested by the Medical Board of California, addresses whether or not physicians, including those employed by Planned Parenthood, must abide by child sexual abuse reporting laws.
Ackerman says that, in spite of assurances by the medical board that the opinion will clarify murky legal issues, there was no guarantee that the opinion would be made public. When asked why he feared that the attorney general's opinion would not be made public, Ackerman pointed to a letter dated October 28 from the attorney general's office. In the letter, G. Perez, a manager with the public inquiry unit, acknowledged that the request for an opinion had been received, but "normally such requests for advice are not public, but in this case, our client decided the request would not be treated as confidential." Ackerman noted that the word "request" was underscored in the medical board's letter in order to detract attention from whether or not the opinion would be made public. Ackerman pointed out that he did not trust California's pro-abortion attorney general not to suggest to the California medical board that the opinion would be confidential, citing attorney-client privilege.
In a November 1 letter, Ackerman reminded the attorney general of his duty to protect the children of California from molesters. "Your office has a clear duty under the California Constitution to enforce the existing laws that require the reporting of sexual abuse of minors. You cannot shirk this duty. It is a conflict of interest for your office to potentially advise the Medical Board that physicians have no duty to report the molestation of children, and at the same time carry out the laws that unequivocally mandate such reporting," Ackerman noted in his November 1 letter. In addition to Ackerman's letter, over twelve thousand people have signed a petition urging the attorney general to issue an opinion that protects children from child abusers.
The attorney general's opinion was requested by Dave Thorton, chief of the enforcement unit of the California medical board, after he received a request by Los Angeles County supervisor Michael Antonovich. In an August 7 letter, Supervisor Antonovich asked the medical board to "take the necessary steps to ensure that physicians who are licensed by your Board follow the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act." Antonovich had first learned, at a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor's meeting in July, that abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood do not report when a minor girl requests an abortion after being impregnated by her adult boyfriend. At the July 20 meeting, John O'Neil of Monrovia first brought up the fact that he had tapes from Texas-based Life Dynamics which showed that Planned Parenthood would not report if a minor girl came into their clinics in order to secure an abortion, even if she was pregnant from her adult boyfriend. After hearing O'Neil's testimony and offer of factual evidence to support his charge, Antonovich sent a letter to Thorton asking that the Medical Board "take the necessary steps to ensure that physicians who are licensed by your Board follow the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act."
When asked by this reporter if he would enforce Antonovich's request, Thorton replied that he would be asking the California state attorney general's office for an opinion as he felt that Antonovich's request was vague. In his reply to Antonovich's letter, Thorton states that the request "presents an interesting legal question: A physician's failure to make a report pursuant to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act vs. their responsibility to honor the patient's right to confidentiality."
Carlos Ramirez, senior assistant attorney general, told me that the attorney general's office did not provide an opinion but merely advised the medical board on this question. "It's not an AG opinion per se," he said in a November 4 telephone interview. "It was a request for advice and we have given them the advice last week." When asked in what form the advice was given, Ramirez said that the attorney general's office had sent the medical board a letter.
Ron Joseph, the executive director of the California Medical Board, also said that his agency had "sought guidance from the AG's office." Joseph noted that his agency did not specifically mention Planned Parenthood in their request. "We have not asked if Planned Parenthood is a mandated reporter," he said. "What we asked is what is in the law regarding the responsibility of physicians in reporting this," he said in a November 1 telephone interview.
California state senator Dick Ackerman (no relation to attorney Rich Ackerman), whom Bill Lockyer defeated in the November 5 election for attorney general, weighed in on the discussion. In a November 4 interview, Ackerman denounced Lockyer's issuance of a letter rather than an opinion. "He obviously has not answered the question," Ackerman said. "He should issue an opinion and his opinion should be that Planned Parenthood not get any special treatment. I think the current attorney general should honor the request and issue an opinion. That opinion should be based on the law, and that is that Planned Parenthood and every agency should report those types of misdeeds. When asked why Lockyer would issue a letter rather than an opinion, Ackerman responded, "looks like he's trying to duck the issue. The current AG is very much pro-choice and this is a way he wants to continue his agenda, even though it is contrary to the law." Ackerman conceded that the attorney general could cite attorney-client privilege in refusing to release the letter.
Ackerman said that he was concerned about a negative opinion by Lockyer's office. "In one of my cases, the Allen case, one of the causes of action is their 'don't ask don't tell' policy [regarding reporting laws]. If they [Planned Parenthood] can come walking in with an opinion from Lockyer saying that it's not a crime not to report, we're dead in the water. I have to pick up the pieces and go home. His opinion carries the full weight of law in California."
On November 4, Thorton admitted that the medical board had received the letter from the attorney general's office. When asked for a copy of the letter, Thorton said that the medical board would be meeting the following day in order to decide the manner in which the letter would be released. The letter, dated November 1, was released on November 5. The eight-page letter states that the reporting requirement exists if the girl is under the age of 16. According to Lockyer's letter, when a girl who is under the age of 16 has been impregnated by her adult boyfriend, three different reporting requirements exist. The first instance is if the girl is 15 years of age or younger and the man who impregnated her is 21 years of age or older. The second instance is when the girl is under the age of 14. In that instance, this is a reportable offense regardless of the age of the father. The third instance is if the girl is 14 or 15 years of age and the father is at least 10 years older than the girl.
With regards to the question as to whether or not minor girls have a right to privacy when seeking an abortion, Lockyer's letter pointed out a 1988 California appellate court case, People vs. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic, Inc., which says that the privacy right that minors may have with regards to securing an abortion does not override the reporting requirements a physician has. As for girls who are 16 and 17 years old, Lockyer states that "it appears" that physicians do not have a duty to report them to Child Welfare authorities.
When told about the contents of the Lockyer letter, Senator Ackerman expressed relief. "They [the Medical Board] need to start prosecuting these cases. Every case that Life Dynamics has provided them within the state should be prosecuted. It would be irresponsible on their part not to prosecute them." Ackerman said that the Lockyer letter would enable the United States Justice Foundation to force Planned Parenthood to comply with state law regarding the reporting of child sexual abuse. "This is opening the floodgates for an all-out assault on Planned Parenthood. They better hunker down because I'm a coming," Ackerman promised.