Komo News broke a story late Tuesday about a 15-year-old Ballard High School student who was taken for an abortion in Seattle with neither her parents' knowledge nor consent.
Alas, in Washington, secret abortions on high school students are nothing new. What comes as a shock to parents like "Jill', the mother other of the aborted teen, is the seamless end-to-end system that has been set up to facilitate these abortions. This system includes the school districts, abortion industry, public health officials, the state legislature, and certain non-profits that leave nothing to chance.
One part of this story that went almost unnoticed was the fact that this girl was taken to the abortion center in a taxi.
Who paid for the taxi? How did it get to the school? Who dispatched it? Which abortion provider did it take her to? AIW has learned that taxi services to "contracting school districts throughout King County" are provided by the Redmond-based non-profit Hopelink.
Can that be right? Can an organization supported by churches and police departments be secretly operating a shuttle service to take girls from their high school classrooms in the middle of the school day to an abortion clinic, and then back to school, all without Mom and Dad finding out?
A conversation with Lisa Krogman, RN, a school nurse at the Chief Sealth High School clinic confirms the following: Without parental consent or notification, girls as young as 13, facing sudden and terrifying news of an unplanned pregnancy, can excuse themselves from class for "reproductive health care" appointments.
Ms. Krogman also confirmed that school based clinics set up abortion appointments through "Hopelink", a free taxi service the schools use to ferry the scared and confused girls to abortion clinics. And the Department of Social and Health Services of Washington pays for the cost of the abortion through Medicaid.
When AIW spoke with one of the dispatchers for Hopelink, we were told that they "take lots of those calls", and that they take students to both various Planned Parenthood locations and the late-term abortion center Cedar River Clinic in Renton.
People praying outside both Planned Parenthood and Cedar River have reported sightings of teenage girls arriving in taxis.
In another conversation with a school nurse at West Seattle High School, it was revealed how the in-school clinic system paves an unobstructed path to Planned Parenthood: The school clinics, which are separate businesses, first provide prescription birth control to any student without parental permission. If a girl turns up pregnant, as birth control often fails, the clinic will excuse the student from class and provide the abortion referral. The abortion appointments are set up during the day by the clinic and provide taxi vouchers to "any medical services" the student needs.
When asked if the school clinic provides taxi vouchers to abortion clinics, the response was: "any services the student needs."
The Ballard Teen Health Center would not answer questions and referred all calls to the King County Public Health communications manager. The school's health center is run by Swedish Hospital, which performs abortions.
Women who have had abortions often remark that the abortion "choice" was more like an escalator ride with no exit. The story of this Ballard high student appears to confirm that the skids were greased toward abortion with no opportunities to get off the deadly path laid before her. At every turn those in a position to help a young woman in a time of crisis, the worst time for making a life-changing decision, helped facilitate an abortion.
Hopelink is listed as the Regional Broker that serves DSHS Medical Assistance clients in King County. DSHS is the agency that pays for teen abortions in Washington state.
Hopelink has refused to answer any of our questions about their abortion taxi service. The public relations specialist Denise Stephens refused to connect us with the transportation coordinator or answer questions about the history of this service, its financing, or frequency.
Calls to the CEO and President Marilyn Mason-Plunkett were not returned.
Donors to Hopelink have been left furious and questioning. One Microsoft employee and long time supporter of Hopelink, who wished not to be identified, was so angry that he attempted to pull his donation and the matching funds that go with it. One Catholic parish has decided to "move away" from Hopelink. Other donors to Hopelink are waiting for more information.
Parents are also upset. The parent of a teen, who wished only to be identified by her first name Mary, told us she pulled her daughter out of the Seattle public school system after discovering these clinics and taxi-services were so embedded in the school system.
The mood at Ballard High School after the KOMO story broke as been one of business has usual, according to Ted Nutting, teacher at Ballard High. According to Nutting, "no one is talking about it, it's like nothing happened."
Apparently the clinics, the taxis and the abortions live another day.
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31 comments:
Mary, this makes me angry, angry with tears...why? why? Oh, I forgot, its all about the money.
How criminally wrong this is - violating this your girl so horribly! It is atrocious!
Ed
Wow, everyone should read this. It's more shocking than I could have imagined. I'm stunned by the reference to the late-term abortion on minors. Any-term is wrong and evil, but this is dangerous surgery, for goodness' sake. What evil jackals so many have become--heartless, cruel, cold, calculating animals.
Thank you so much for the expose'. Great reporting.
Thank you Mary for informing us! We need to spread this word to everyone and we need to rewrite parental consent form, etc. We will continue to pray for an end to abortion. God bless you!
Thank you Mary and Jonathan! People need to know about Hopelink, I am tired of seeing their sad faces of children posted on the sides of buses as I commute to work.
I see a weak spot in that they likely have many pro-life individuals and churches supporting them...hopefully this awareness will begin to drain their funding.
Thanks everybody for your concern about this terrible situation.
However, every parent should know that changing the permission slip/parental consent form will do NOTHING to stop this from happening again.
Abortion is a fundamental right and a first principle when set up against other rights in the state of Washington. It takes precedence over EVERYTHING that would attempt to stand in its way.
There is nothing wrong going on here and just because you guys have your own opinions doesn't mean that's automatically right. You can all say you're thinking about the people that do get abortions, but you're really not. You're just saying what you think about it for your own self. Why don't you just stay out of it and let people live their own lives?
And as for you, Mary, I think it's a bit rash that you would take your child out of Seattle Public Schools just for that. No matter what anybody thinks, Teen Health Centers are really good for schools, and that's not an opinion, it's a fact.
I'm the Mary that moved my daughter out of the Seattle School district. If there are any Catholic families in the Seattle public school they can call the alliancedefensefund.org. 800 835 5233. Birth control and abortion are against the Catholic religion. The school does not respect freedom of religion. Catholic teenagers should be exempt from the school's reproductive services. It is against my Catholic religion to send my daughter to a seattle public school.
The seattle school falsified the 15 year old's attendance record. The school broke the law.
If I had children in the Seattle public school I would ask for daily attendance records to see if the clinic is pulling them out of class.
Hopelink needs some public pressure over this.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. Ballard has been in the news before for "bending" the rules.
It appears the Teen Health Centers give free pregnancy tests, then when a teen is struck by the panic sensation flooding her veins as she discovers she is pregnant - the Health Center says, we have a solution for you...don't tell your family or parents and the service will be free...and they send her off to have an abortion. What happened to CHOICE?
If the schools were looking out for the girls' best interest they would offer all the choices, not just abortion - crisis pregnancy centers, adoption, and options for keeping the baby. And they would suggest the girl take some time to think about it and talk it over with someone she trusts. Many young girls would want to talk with their parents....some may not, but they should be given this CHOICE. Shh, keep it secret and it's FREE. I was taught if someone said, "don't tell anyone" I should run fast and tell my parents asap. I'm shocked at how the abortion industry has infiltrated and hijacked the public school system.
High School Student: "Why don't you just stay out of it and let people live their own lives?" Has it occured to you that the schools aren't staying out of it - they are forcing girls into having abortions without time to think about their chioces.
Mary I applaud you for removing your daughter from the Seattle Public Schools!
Thanks for the excellent reporting.
Rather than just giving scientific sex education, they told the students to experiment with their sexuality, and the students now think it's not normal not to have pre-marital or extra-marital sex. They provide birth control, which doesn't fully protect against pregnancy, much less STDs. Then, when they get pregnant, they do all they can to see that the baby gets killed. So much for sex education in the public school systems. They don't care about the students if they don't care about their bodies getting sick or the innocent babies who would be born. Margaret Sanger, who started Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist and her legacy has curtailed one third of the Black population in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr.'s neice stated recently, that Planned Parenthood has done more harm to the Black population in America than the Ku Klux Klan ever could have hoped to do.
To Laura K,
Um, hello? I go to school right now, do you? Obviously not.
And yeah, schools are trying to HELP students from not getting pregnant in the first place. They're just trying to help when kids do make their mistakes.
I'm not for, or against, abortion. I think people should do what they need and do what they believe is right.
Schools aren't forcing students to do anything. You guys are just making a WAY too big of deal out of nothing and you guys just sit here and blog about it.
Like I said, if you have certain opinions, that doesn't make it automatically right.
And to Mary,
yeah, it might be against YOUR catholic religion, but does your daughter follow the same religion and ideals as you? Have you even asked or consulted with her? This is why kids can't even talk to their parents in the first place. Because you guys freak out.
Why don't you ask their opinions instead of automatically sharing your own? And if it's so against your religion to send your daughter to seattle public school, why'd you do it in the first place?
Oh, and by the way, get your facts straight before you accuse the school of falsifying the attendance record. Because that's not true, at all. Talk to the school itself if you want the facts. And for people that STILL don't get it: The teen health center is not part of the high school itself, it's a separate part run by Swedish. It has nothing to do with the school.
"Reproductive health care"?
What in the world is "Reproductive" about abortion?
@ High School Student,
Would you still be OK with this "choice" for your fellow classmates, if one of them died, and their parents never knew their daughter was even pregnant. I have a right as a parent to know what medical procedures are being done on my children when they go to school. Don't tell me they need permission to take Tylenol, but you'll ship my daughter's off for an abortion without my knowledge. If legally I am their guardian, no one has the right to supersede that authority. Mary didn't say she was against the public school system, what she is against is someone overriding her authority, and going against her families beliefs. The clinic has no right to do that. If you think you are grown enough to have sex, then you need to be adult enough to take care of that baby responsibly. The unborn baby doesn't deserve to die, because of a scared mom. Birth control fails, and these clinics profit horribly from the negligence of teens esp. These clinics don't care about you, or they wouldn't push a product that has a high failure rate, then when it fails, kill the innocent baby that results, then tell you to come back and get more birth control. Then tell you to lie to your parents. Young lady (or young man) until you have your own children, don't try to lecture to parents on how we are supposed to stay out of our own sons and daughters lives.
By the way if you re-read the article it says the schools are not giving clear answers on whether or not they have this shuttle service set up, because as you said we just "don't get it", because it's not run through the school, but through a contract.
To the high school students reading this: We love you! Otherwise we wouldn't care.
Remember when you were little and you loved Hello Kitty or Barbie..or whatever it was? If somebody asked you how long you'd love those things, you probably would have said, "Forever!" and you would have meant it from the bottom of your heart! I've had things like that in my life and I still do. The difference now is that, after living 40 years, is that I've learned that some things do pass away. I've also learned that sometimes, even though I'm passionate about something and give it my total loyalty and fidelity, later I may find out that I was wrong. This is the essence of becoming more mature and improving one's self.
There is a principle in being human that some people never get. It's tragic and people who never get it flounder throughout their whole lives and eventually become angry, bitter and destructive. Some of these people end up as addicts, some in jail, some rapists, some theives, some commit suicide and some work their whole lives believing that if only more people believed the lie, then somehow it would become true. It's sad and it's all because of the stubborn refusal to embrace the truth.
That truth is that some things in life are objectively wrong. This means regardless of the circumstances, there is no way to make these things right or even acceptable. Killing innocent people is an objectively wrong thing to do. This is what abortion does.
Another objectively wrong act is to have sex outside of a life-long, committed relationship? Why? Because regardless of how many foams, hormones and latex sheaths we use, having sex has the strong and natural potential of playing with somebody's life! Over 60% of abortions are because the contraception "failed". It's wrong to kill innocent people. All innocent people deserve to live. They also all deserve to be born into homes with parents who love them. When we have sex outside a life-long committed relationship, we disregard of the rights of the people whose lives we may be party in creating.
This business with the school is wrong for the reasons I explained. Instead of giving its students the protection and guidance of adult acceptance of what is objectively dangerous (abortion and sex outside life-long relationship), it provides the means to engage in the activity and the means to hide it so it can continue. This is sexual abuse and exploitation of the trust and natural (and rightly-ordered) immaturity of teens.
Things that are objectively wrong hurt people. That's a fact that can't be denied. The students in the school deserve to be protected from those consequences, not abandoned to them. And even though high school students feel passionately that it is their right to have sex without their parents' knowledge, those students will either one day realize their mistake or they will become angry, bitter, destructive people who are a blight to society. That's tragic. The students deserve better.
Wow, I'm sorry, but look at all these morons who call this 'great reporting'. This is only HALF of the story, not even. I have a niece at Ballard High School and it's a fantastic school. The Health Center is not run by the school, but by the nearby hospital. It's sickening that all these news outlets are reporting false stories and making the whole state of Washington look bad. And watch as my comment doesn't get posted because I'm the only person with enough sense to speak the truth. Disgusting, corrupt media these days. I could puke just about now.
This article is ridiculous. Half the sentences are twisted about to make the story sound a lot different than what actually happened! She wasn't a "scared and confused girl". I think that since her mother is going to ape-shit on the situation that the girl would be more scared of her mother finding out (which she did) than getting the abortion. Imagine if she hadn't had the abortion and the girl had just told her mom about the baby, I'm sure her mom would be just as pissed off and try to blame it on the Teen Health Center all over again.
Also, the THC doesn't just give out birth control like candy, they educate us and tell us the safe choice for everything. I'm sure if that option wasn't there then there would be a LOT more pregnancies in high schools because, whether anyone likes it or not, pretty much the majority of kids in high schools these days are having sex. Just because you don't want them to, doesn't mean they're not going to do it. Unless you block them off from all TV, magazines, internet and pretty much the whole outside world they're going to be taught certain things. The Teen Health Center is there to help us make right decisions when those aren't always shown to us and when we have problems they help us. It's not like they pick us out of class and say, "HEY YOU'RE HAVING A BABY, YOU BETTER GET AN ABORTION MISSY!" Just because we're still teenagers doesn't mean we aren't capable of making our own decisions and facing the consequences of our own mistakes.
Everyone is seriously taking this story and twisting it beyond all reason. But you know what? I'm pretty sure half of the people who are commenting so rudely would still comment rudely if the situation were flipped around. Everyone just tries to see the bad in everything these days and I'm sick of it. Take a chill pill, you're only getting your panties in a twist and upsetting yourself.
Parents, please talk to your children. You don't need to pry, but make sure they know you care. Make sure they know that they can come to you about anything and that you won't judge them, you will only help them and do what is best for them. You see, you complain about the teen health center "forcing" students to keep secrets from their parents when really, i think you are just frustrated with the fact that maybe your child wouldn't WANT to tell you. The Ballard Teen Health Center would NEVER force a student to do ANYTHING they didn't want to do. If this girl had wanted her mom to know that she was pregnant, she would have told her. And if the student still wanted their assistance, the Teen Health Center would still have helped her in any way she needed; whether it's abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. They would support her, no matter which option she chose. Just like what you, the parents, should do.
I am sick and tired of people complaining about how something is against their beliefs and trying to stop others from believing in it. If you don't believe in gay marriage, then don't be gay. If you don't like abortion, don't get an abortion. But don't try to stop other people from doing what THEY believe in. Don't let ignorance blind you from the fact that EVERYONE has their own beliefs, not just you.
Always follow the ##'s. Abortion has to be a highly profitable business to have survived and to be promoted all these years. Doctors and groups using clever key words like "choice" and"protecting women's rights".
Why are we (taxpayers) paying for this through King County Health Dept and DSHS? Directly or indirectly.Why don't we have choice? Those of us who hate abortion.
What is government role in this?
To those who think this story is "good reporting" - anyone could write a story like this. All you have to do is gather a couple quotes out of context to support your view, rant about an "abortion conspiracy", and you're good. Asking accusing questions and using misleading desriptions ("scared and confused girls" and the so called "deadly path laid for her".) makes for an interesting but usually false story.
One thing about the story, if you look closely, is that one side of the story is presented in a malicous and bias manner. Her first part of the story makes it sound like Hopelink is running a slave trade operation, against the "scared, confused" girls will. They're treating high-schoolers like toddlers when in fact, amazingly, they can make intelligent decisions with the GUIDANCE of adults who are not psychos like Jill. You may think I'm harsh in calling her that, but no loving mom would put her child in the middle of such an ugly situation to get some attention. She is probably going to be emotionally scarred for life because of this. Obviously the mom has/had no idea what the kid is going through, since she didn't even know that her kid was pregnant. It's also interesting that the girl chose not to tell her.
Secondly, she chooses to ignore other important facts about the THC. It provides several services that have NOTHING TO DO WITH ABORTIONS, such as, oh I dont know, medical care, a mental health counselor and flu and other shots. ALL FOR FREE. Can you imagine what would happen if they had to close that down? Everyone should be thanking the THC for the amazing job they do every day in providing important basic medical care that many students badly need.
Thirdly, you make the abortion sound like a horrible, "deadly" procedure that ruined this girl's life. Did you consider that maybe, just maybe, they saved her life? How many 15 year olds can raise a baby while still staying in school? According to familyfirstaid.com, "Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30. Teen mothers are more likely to end up on welfare (nearly 80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare)." So maybe her life is much better off than it would be.
In conclusion, this article has little to no factual basis (birth control usually fails? Really? Have you ever actually used it?) and is just a long opinonated conspiracy theory written to scare everyone shitless. Props to Mary for this though - she should get a job at fox news. Peace.
Actually I have used birth control, several different types, and I got pregnant with my first child while on the pill, (and I didn't go and kill her even though she wasn't planned), and I used Depo Provera, which caused irreplaceable bone loss. So I do speak from knowledge and experience, and if a 15 year old can lay down and have sex, then they need to be responsible for that unborn baby. To tell a teen, "here's some condoms, and when they fail, don't worry you can get an abortion" that it's ok, it's not. Stop telling teens that it's ok to have sex with whomever, and that there won't be any consequences. Having an abortion doesn't change their behavior, if they see nothing wrong with killing an unborn baby. Women are using abortion as a form of birth control, and that is sickening. I ask again: if your teen daughter died getting an abortion, and you didn't even know she was pregnant, but someone else took her and paid for it, would you still be ok with this school program?
Oh, just stop Danielle. You're not going to get anywhere.
Sorry Danielle, but not every single person shares your opinion that having an abortion is "killing babies." And I completely disagree that because teens can have sex, they can raise a baby. Look at my stats that I posted. Only 1/3 of pregnant unmarried woman graduate high school, and after that only 1.5% graduate from college by age 30. 80% of them have to go on welfare. And about my daughter dying from an abortion - pregnant teens are 6-7 times more likely to commit suicide than other teens. So really I think my daughter would be safer, better educated, and healthier by getting an abortion. And by the way, death occurs in "0.0006% of all legal surgical abortions" according to the National Abortion Federation. I think I'd be more worried about complications that can arise from giving birth than an actual abortion.
Please stop slandering the THC with outrageous accusations such as "they tell people its ok to have sex with whomever, and that there won't be any consequences" and that they just hand out birth control. The Thc does a fantastic job educating teens about the different types of birth control and about safe sex. I actually went to ballard recently and have friends who work in the THC, so I know from personal experience that they do a huge public service and probably prevent many unwanted pregnancies and abortions - something we can both be thankful for.
Finally, if I had a daughter, I can honestly say I would feel safe in the hands of the THC. They don't force teens to get abortions, and "ferry" them to abortion clinics - they are there for guidance and support, which again is a huge sertvice to our community.
Sorry but not everyone shares your opinion about abortions - its a perfectly legal and safe operation that is a personal choice.
People have a right to their own opinions, and not everyone shares
P.S. - The THC is NOT a school program, its run by swedish.
The parents have the right to know what their daughter is doing... If I were a mother and my daughter tried to get an abortion behind my back, I would be furious! It's not the fact that she got herself pregnant that would have made me mad... it would have been the fact that she didn't tell me, then turned around and tried to abort behind my back.
You DON'T have to keep the child after he/she is born; that is what adoption is for!! I have a very good friend whom was the result of a teen pregnancy and was given up for adoption. She was one of the most intelligent, nicest people I've ever known and I know will be successful one day.
Another thing... Don't put yourself in the situation that will result in pregnancy... That is probably the dumbest thing you could do to yourself in high school (though rape is an entirely different scenario altogether).
And high school student... Try watching the first two minutes of this video. It is horrific. http://noolmusic.com/youtube_live/abortion_video.php Some girls that have an abortion end up committing suicide afterwards... I truly pity them.
I am a graduating high school student myself and it saddens me to see this kind of crap happen around me. I count my blessings that I'm not in that kind of situation...
TCH has help so many stident at ballard. it is also not part of the school it is part of the hosptial. they did not force the girl to get an abortion it was her choice. The mother has no right blame the school or the teen health center. the mom sign a paper at the begin of the year stating that the girl could go there for anything. also tch has a doctor patiant contatie which mean that a mom, dad, teacher or a fellow student could go in ther and demand to know if a student has been in there and they could not tell me. the school and the tch are not to be blame the mom is. THC has help me so much this past year with dealing with a drufg abuse bf to the death of my dad. thc has help many kids. THE MOM IS TO BLAME WHERE WAS SHE WHEN HER CHILD WAS GETTING KNOCK-UP.
@ Anonymous:
Abortion does kill an unborn baby, and that is a scientific fact, and just how is abortion safe for the baby? Also I have stated in previous posts that this was done through Swedish, but the school has a responsibility to know when a student leaves campus. What happens if that student is injured in a car accident, and the parents assume their child is at school? The school has to be accountable for the children in their care. And I'm not saying that that is what the clinic is saying literally, but that is the message you send when you give out birth control, like there is nothing to it. Just because people can have sex, doesn't mean they should, esp. when every time you have sex, you open yourself up to std's, pregnancy, or a damaged heart. What is wrong with telling our children to save yourself for a spouse, to have self control, and to have respect for yourself?
You stated the stats of deaths from "Legal and Safe" abortions, and say you'd worry more about complications from actually delivering...I worry about that .00006%, and don't want my daughters to be a part of that statistic. A woman's body is suited for pregnancy, not abortion: "Physical and emotional damage from abortion is greater in a young girl. Adolescent abortion candidates differ from their sexually mature counterparts, and these differences contribute to high morbidity." They have immature cervixes and "run the risk of a difficult, potentially traumatic dilatation." The use of laminaria "in no way mitigates our present concern over the problems of abortion." C. Cowell, Problems of Adolescent Abortion, Ortho Panel 14, Toronto General Hospital.
Does that sound safe to you?
This is really a shocking news for me, I never heard that taxi services are provided for such things too. A girl is going for abortion and no body knows about it.
I actually found your blog doing a search after I heard Dori Monson of KIRO 97.3FM talking about this on his radio show, I would pretty much consider myself Pro-Life but willing to bend a hair, that being 1st 3 months of the pregnancy as much as dont like it, after that time the woman should of had plenty of time to make her "choice" anyway, in regards to this topic, This makes me so angry that they would do that! Provide the kid a abortion, lie to the parents about it, log it in that the kid was in school all day, and all this while the school district is begging for money? Thats enough to make any sane person VOTE NO on school levies! I posted your blog on my facebook to warn parents about this! And like I said, I dont have any kids but if I did I would want to know about something like this!
Richard, thanks for posting the link, and for sharing your thoughts.
We are continuing to pursue this story. We just got correspondence back today from a spokesman for the King County Public Health Department defending the fact that they have done NOTHING to fix the health clinic forms parents sign to make sure parents are aware that they will be helping your child procure a secret abortion.
They want to pretend that abortion is just one of many medical services and "we can't list them all", and they want us all to go along with them on their magical fantasy tour.
These people don't have an ounce of moral decency to rub between them. Stay tuned.
I have been searching for this for a long time. I was lucky with google. thanks...
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