Middle School Students Mistakenly Get Education at Planned Parenthood in Manchester

The permission slips said only that the STAY students were to go on a social services scavenger hunt.

It did not say that the students would also stop at Planned Parenthood where anti-abortion protesters were picketing.

Hal Jordan, president of Manchester’s YMCA, says the scavenger hunt had a purpose.

HJ (18 secs): As children head toward the summer months and they’re not in the school environment, and often times beyond the bounds of their family, the purpose was to acquaint the kids with the many social services organizations that they can turn to utilize and to help. The mistake that the staff made, and it's clearly a mistake, was to pick the planned parenthood organization to visit.

The students also visited the library, Youth and Family Services and the Boys and Girls club.

At each place, the students received a brief presentation of the services offered.

Planned Parenthood educator Anna Johnson, gave the presentation at her facility.

AJ (13 secs) When they came into the health center, they were pretty confused and they were kind of disturbed what had happened outside. They were saying that they were shouting things at us and they being really aggressive. They did walk through the protesters.

The presentation, says Johnson, had nothing to due with abortions, and the word was never uttered.

Instead,

AJ (28 secs): Birth control, pregnancy testing, testing and treatment for sexual transmitted infections. Annual exams for women, a little bit of what a pap smear is. What a breast exam. All about prevention. Told them about the affordability of services, the confidentiality and telling them when we have a teen walk-in clinic it is. That's basically what I talked to them about.

FG (8 secs): I don't think it's appropriate to be bringing kids to planned parenthood.

That’s Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. By office, he is also the head of the school board.

FG (14 secs) : We're talking about 7th and 8th graders here. These are kids. I don't believe that's in age appropriate place to bring kids, to bring kids.

Another reason this story has created such a storm of controversy in Manchester is that the permission slip to the STAY parents didn’t specify where the students were going.

DK (8 secs): An abortion clinic, or a place where abortions are performed is not an appropriate place to bring school children.

That's School Board member Doug Kruse.

At Monday's school board meeting, he called for canceling the schools involvement with the STAY program.

He has since backed away from that position.

DK 16 secs: If the school district is taking children to a place that I don't believe they should go, and that I have not been informed about. What does that mean for my child. Will my child be taken on a field trip without my notice and going to places that I don't think is appropriate.

The school district pays for nearly fifteen percent of the program.

The Y-M-C-A covers the rest with the help of grants.

According to statistics from 2003, Manchester’s rate for births to teenage mothers is nearly twice the state average.

And that figure includes only births.

The state does not keep records on the number of abortions performed.

Anna Thomas with the Manchester Health Department defers to the school system to make decisions about what to do with STAY

AT (5 secs):But I will tell you from a public health standpoint, we certainly have a community issue that we need to address.

The school board is investigating how and why the field trip took place.

And a report should be completed by the end of the week.

But it looks like this was STAY's last adventure o to Planned Parenthood.

Even though it appears none of the parents of the youths who went there have ever complained.

For NHPR News, I'm Brian Early.