Washington parents are livid that Stewart Middle School in Tacoma had distributed flyers to eighth grade students telling them about abortion access even without the consent of their parents. The Planned Parenthood flyer contained graphic information about emergency contraception, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) testing.
According to the Post Millennial, the flyer talked about age of minority and consent for sex, saying that "It is not a crime if you are 11 and have sex with somebody 2 years older or less, 12 to 13 and have sex with somebody who is 3 years older or less, 14 or 15 and have sex with somebody who is 4 years older or less." The flyer also read that "If you are 14 years old or older, you do not need permission from your parent or guardian to get tested for STDs or HIV, or to get treatment."
The flyer also encouraged its young readers to "buy Plan B Emergency Contraception at a local pharmacy without a prescription at any age" and said that kids are "allowed to get a prescription for birth control without your parent or guardian's permission."
Parents who were shocked and angered at the flyer promoting the sexualization of children and abortion being given to eight grade children contacted the school's administrators. The flyers were reportedly distributed during science class. Tacoma Public Schools ssistant director of secondary education Eric Hogan then issued a response saying that the flyer promoting abortion was not part of the school's curriculum and was distributed by mistake.
"Previously, Planned Parenthood taught within our schools and supplied the flyer which was distributed to students," Hogan explained. "We discovered a binder of curriculum materials was left behind for an incoming teacher to use for this year, and the flyer was in the binder."
Hogan said that the teacher was unaware that the flyer was not approved and that "corrective action" was imposed on the teacher. He also said that Planned Parenthood is no longer providing presentations to the schools, apologizing for the mishap and assured that the unapproved curriculum had already been removed and that staff were informed about the changes.
"To ensure this does not happen in the future, we have removed any un-approved materials and informed our teachers and administrators to ensure they have a clear understanding of what is included in the approved curriculum," Hogan explained, as reported by CBN News.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were over 17,000 abortions provided in the Washington state in 2017, with a 12% declined in the abortion rate between 2014 to 2017. Abortions in the state account for 2.15 of total abortions in the U.S. As of 2017, there were 51 facilities that offered abortion services in the state, 40 of which were clinics. However, as of January 2021, restrictions on abortion have been implemented, allowing abortion on the condition that the patient's life or health is endangered.
