September 1, 2011

 

HB 2093 (State Representative David Reis and State Senator Bill Haine) passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn

Illinois Citizens for Life Supported HB 2093.

 

Amends The Illinois Abused And Neglected Child Reporting Act.  Re-States that all medical personnel at any facilities that provides abortions, abortion referrals or contraceptives must report any suspected child abuse or neglect.  Also now requires that all office personnel at these facilities must be trained on the law of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and must inform any medical personnel at the facility of any suspected child abuse or neglect.

 

Virginia Minor Sexual Abuse Expose

 

The recent video expose by Life Action  [see http://liveaction.org for details] of Virginia Planned Parenthood clinics in Falls Church, Charlottesville, Richmond and Roanoke which clearly show staff willing to aid and abet the sexual trafficking and exploitation of minors and young woman has shocked the nation.

As a result, State Representative David Reis introduced HB 2093, which was then sponsored in the Senate by State Senator Bill Haine. The bill re-emphasizes that medical personnel and counselors as well as office personnel are mandated reporters under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.  The bill says in part that mandated reporters “shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the Department [of Children and Family Services] when the reporter has “reasonable cause to believe a child known to them in their professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a neglected child.”

 

Illinois Connection

 

The horrible situation in Virginia is unfortunately not isolated to that State.  For example, in the late 1990s, a situation came to light by Illinois Congressman Don Manzullo.  A 13 year old seventh grade girl names Jessica, unbeknownst to her parents or to anyone else, walked out of school to meet with her 37 year old teacher.  The teacher had convinced Jessica to visit the local family planning clinic and Jessica complied.  The student and the teacher were involved in an illegal sexual relationship and the teacher sought to secure contraceptives for Jessica because he was tired of using condoms when having sex with her.  They walked into a federally-funded family planning and abortion clinic.  Jessica was noticeably nervous.  The teacher assured her that everything would be all right and that no one would find out about their secret affair.  When they arrived at the clinic, the teacher requested that Jessica be given a shot of Depo Provera, a very powerful and controversial contraceptive.  Jessica’s information, including her age, was documented, but no questions were asked about the man who brought her to the clinic.  Only when Jessica was taken into another room to have the drug administered did she let slip to the clinic staffer that the man who brought her in was her teacher and the true nature of their relationship was revealed.  The clinic staffer, though required by law to report this as sexual assault under Illinois law, assured Jessica that her secret was safe and that no one would find out.

 

Currently, all 50 states have laws requiring healthcare professionals and others to report suspected sexual abuse of minors including “statutory rape.”  However, there is developing evidence that many family planning and abortion clinics are not reporting all instances of suspected abuse, and are instead advising minors and their abusers on how to circumvent the law.  As a result, sexual predators are free to continue to abuse their victims, scarring them for life.