Ohio court to hear rape cover-up case

Ohio Supreme Court Hears Planned Parenthood Secret Teen Abortion Case

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear a case involving a secret abortion arranged by a 22-year-old soccer coach for the 14-year-old girl he was abusing. The girl gave Planned Parenthood her abuser's number instead of her parents' number, and they contacted him and got him to sign consent papers for the abortion. The coach, John Haller, had been abusing the girl since she was 13.

Haller was convicted in 2004 of sexual battery and served three years in prison. The girl's parents sued Planned Parenthood for failing to notify them and for failure to report the statutory rape to the authorities.

The girl's parents are also asking for redacted records on all abortions for underage girls to ascertain if they are routinely failing to report sexual abuse. So far the courts have ruled that Planned Parenthood does not have to turn over the records to the family's attorney, because he is not handling a class-action lawsuit on behalf of parents of multiple teen abuse victims. The court also cited privacy concerns even though all identifying information would be redacted from the records.

The lower court claimed that there was no other evidence that Planned Parenthood was doing abortions on other underage girls without notifying their parents. Or, presumably, the authorities in cases of sexual abuse.

The attorney, Brian Hurley, is also representing another teenager, this one victimized by her father, who obtained services from Planned Parenthood to cover up the abuse. She was subjected to an additional 18 months of incestuous abuse as a result. The girl confided in somebody else, who properly reported the abuse, leading to prosecution and a five-year sentence.

Hurley is hoping the case the Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear will "look at what we think are extremely important issues related to the issue of child abuse."

Hurley said he's obtained a handwritten note from Planned Parenthood that mentions the phrase, "Don't ask/don't tell" and said the note was from a Planned Parenthood trainer, Julia Piercey.