Bachmann warns of abortions at school

Schools might start offering abortions if healthcare reform passes, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) warned last night.

Speaking on the House floor, Bachmann raised concerns about the "school based health clinics" discussed in H.R. 3200, which she said were merely "sex clinics" designed to bring Planned Parenthood into the nation's schools.

Though bill specifically requires these clinics to follow federal, state and local law concerning parental consent, Bachmann claimed that the school-based health center might provide abortions without informing a student's guardian.

There's no passage in the bill to support this claim, and Bachmann's office didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification.

Here's the relevant passage from her floor speech:

But parents are going to excluded from Planned Parenthood as they write these clinics because the bill orders that these clinics protect patient privacy and student records.  What does that mean? It means that parents will never know what kind of counsel and treatment that their children are receiving.  And as a matter of fact, the bill goes on to say what's going to go on -- comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care -- is that abortion? Does that mean that someone's 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser.

This doesn't mesh with the bill's language, however. Section 2511 specifically states that such clinics must follow state laws governing parental consent. (Read the section here.)

(i) SBHC services will be provided in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws governing--

(I) obtaining parental or guardian consent; and

(II) patient privacy and student records, including section 264 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act;