Undercover Planned Parenthood Videos Were Altered, Analysis Finds

Planned Parenthood recordings (2008)

In 2006, O'Keefe met Lila Rose, founder of an anti-abortion group on the UCLA campus.[34] They secretly recorded encounters in Planned Parenthood clinics. Rose posed as a pregnant teenager seeking advice (a 15-year-old girl impregnated by a 23-year-old male); they made two videos and released them on YouTube. In one, a clinic worker in Los Angeles tells Rose "that she could 'figure out a birth date that works' to avoid having PPLA notify police."[35]

In 2007 O'Keefe phoned several Planned Parenthood clinics and secretly recorded the conversations. He posed as a donor, asking if his donations would be applied to needs of minority women. When told they could be, he made "race-motivated" comments.[36] By audio recordings, workers at clinics in six other states reportedly agreed to accept his donation under similar terms.[37]

Planned Parenthood of California filed a "cease and desist" order against Lila Rose, charging that she was violating state laws against secret recordings. The order required her to remove the videos from YouTube and give all the recordings to the organization. She complied through her attorney.[35]

After O'Keefe's four audio recordings were publicized in 2008, Planned Parenthood of Ohio issued a public response, saying the worker's words were "a violation of any policy, and it's very upsetting." The CEO said, "Planned Parenthood has a long history of social justice."[36] Other offices noted the wide variety of services the organization offers to low income communities.[37] African-American leaders called for withdrawal of public financing of the organization.[34] No funding was withdrawn.[citation needed]

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