Local Planned Parenthood suspends employee

An online video has led Planned Parenthood in Bloomington to suspend one of its employees and begin an internal investigation.

The video shows a 20-year-old UCLA student, who went undercover as a 13-year-old, going into Planned Parenthood, saying she was impregnated by a 31-year-old man and asking for help. The Planned Parenthood employee, “Diana,” is seen telling the teen to cross state lines to get an abortion that doesn’t require parental consent.

The video was released Wednesday but was filmed in June at the 421 S. College Ave. location by the student-led Live Action Films, a student human rights organization.

In the video, the employee tells the teen she is supposed to report the incident to Child Protective Services but will pretend she did not hear the age of the man who impregnated her.

Planned Parenthood did not know the girl was from Live Action Films or was being videotaped.

The employee in the video was put on an immediate, unpaid suspension Wednesday, according to a press release from Planned Parenthood of Indiana.

“While we cannot be certain whether this video has been altered, the apparent actions of the employee would be in violation of our strict policies and procedures,” said President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana Betty Cockrum in a prepared statement. “Therefore, a thorough internal investigation of this matter has begun.”

Lila Rose, the UCLA student in the video, said the group chose the Bloomington location because it was in a college town and because of the strict regulations Indiana has to protect young girls.

The group has student chapters in California and Oregon. An anti-abortion student group from Indiana helped the organization complete the video, Rose said.

Rose founded the group when she was 16 and has been going undercover for the past two years.

“I saw a huge need to expose and educate on the issue of abortion and other reproductive issues,” Rose said.

The group has further footage of the Bloomington location and other locations in Indiana, Rose said. The footage will be available online in the coming days.

Kate Shepherd, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said the fate of the employee in the video will be determined after the investigation is done.

Indiana centers are reinforcing the requirements that are expected of its employees, Shepherd said.