Indiana Grand Jury To Investigate Video Secretly Filmed By Antiabortion Advocate At Planned Parenthood

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 23 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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A grand jury in Marion County, Ind., will investigate whether an undercover video filmed at an Indianapolis clinic operated by Planned Parenthood of Indiana contains evidence of any criminal violations, the county prosecutor's office announced last week, AP/Google.com reports. Mario Massillamany, a spokesperson for county prosecutor Carl Brizzi, said prosecutors intend to subpoena an unedited video taken in June by Lila Rose, a 20-year-old student at University of California-Los Angeles and president of antiabortion-rights group Live Action Films. In the video, Rose poses as a 13-year-old girl, saying that she is pregnant and that the man who impregnated her is 31 years old. The Planned Parenthood staff member in the video tells Rose, "I don't care how old he is." Prosecutors also plan to talk with Rose, Massillamany said.

Indiana law requires individuals with knowledge of sexual acts between an adult and a child younger than age 14 to report the information to authorities. Massillamany said the prosecution intends "to make sure that all the information we have is accurate, before we make a determination as to whether a crime has been committed" (Wilson, AP/Google.com, 12/18). Kate Shepherd, a spokesperson for PPIN, said that Betty Cockrum -- president and CEO of PPIN -- called the prosecutor last Tuesday "to discuss the situation" and has not had any communication with him since (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 12/18). PPIN this week suspended the counselor in the video and fired an aide who appeared in a similar video that Rose said was filmed at a Bloomington, Ind., clinic. In addition, the organization has retrained staff on reporting abuse, AP/Google.com reports (AP/Google.com, 12/18).

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