February 8, 2011
Latest Hidden Video by Abortion Foes Shows Bronx Clinic of Planned Parenthood
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS

An anti-abortion group released a videotape on Tuesday of a man whom the group said was posing as a pimp and a woman who was posing as a prostitute on a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Bronx. They appear to get information from a receptionist about how to obtain abortions and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases for under-age sex workers.

The videotape was the sixth released by the group, Live Action, of undercover visits to Planned Parenthood; the others were made at a clinic in New Jersey and four locations in Virginia. Its release comes as anti-abortion advocates and their allies in Congress are trying to cut off money for Planned Parenthood, which provides family planning, contraception and abortion.

Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, which is based in San Jose, Calif., said Tuesday that her group had gone after Planned Parenthood because “they’re the biggest abortion chain in the country.” She said the tape showed that Planned Parenthood used promises of confidentiality to cover up sex trafficking.

Planned Parenthood of New York City released a statement saying that Live Action was making “false claims” as part of a political agenda.

“These tapes are part of a nationwide campaign by this group,” the statement said. “Unlike other publicized tapes, the hoax patients in New York were not able to get beyond the reception desk for a private consultation.”

Joan Malin, president of Planned Parenthood of New York City, noted that the man and woman in the video were both adults. She said that if under-age women had come into the clinic, they would have been screened for violent or abusive relationships and referred to any necessary services.

“Under New York State law, we are not required to report criminal activity,” Ms. Malin said. “We are required to report anything we believe is child abuse or neglect by a parent or guardian, which we do.”

Roger Rathman, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood, said Tuesday that the organization believed the tape had been doctored to add the words “sex work” and “sex worker,” and that the two staff members interviewed on camera — a receptionist and a supervisor — had told the Federal Bureau of Investigation they did not hear those words.

Ms. Rose, the Live Action president, denied the doctoring claim.

The Live Action Web site shows two versions of the tape, a highly condensed version and a longer one. The short version shows what appears to be the man and woman walking toward a clinic, wearing summer clothing, even though the visit to the Bronx clinic was in the midst of a snowy January. Ms. Rose acknowledged that the introduction was shot elsewhere.

On the video, a man and a woman — their faces never visible — enter the clinic, apparently carrying a hidden camera.

A woman who appears to be a receptionist leads them through metal detectors. Standing in a hall, the man says in a whispery voice that he is wondering “about testing for the both of us.” The receptionist assumes he is talking about HIV testing. The man continues: “We’re involved in sex work. We have some other girls that we manage and work with that they’re gonna need testing as well.”

The receptionist says that everything is confidential and that “they don’t have to tell anybody what it is that they do.” She says the clinic treats people as young as 13. At this point the woman posing as a prostitute interjects that “some of them are 14 and 15.”

The man asks whether he could “sign off as a guardian,” and the receptionist explains that the clinic does not ask for a guardian’s signature. Under New York law, minors can get an abortion without parental permission.

Although Live Action describes the couple as posing as a pimp and a prostitute, they are not heard calling themselves such on the tape.

Planned Parenthood fired an office manager of a New Jersey clinic who was caught on one video encouraging the pimp to have the girls lie about their ages. The group ordered retraining for staff members across the country.

Nate Schweber contributed reporting.

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