Foster Parenting Materials Steer Disabled Teens to Planned Parenthood

I am a foster parent licensed in Florida for the past three and a half years. Each year, I need to earn continuing education credits to maintain my license. I recently signed up for an online course through Foster Parent College on supporting normalcy for children in care — a laudable goal. And most of the course was fine. But one segment, “Paige Is Boy Crazy,” took a sickening turn.

The segment presented the fictional story of Paige, a 15-year-old girl with Down Syndrome. Due to Paige’s vulnerability and lack of inhibition, Paige’s foster mother, Mrs. Green, chaperones Paige’s dates with her boyfriend. (It is unstated whether or not the boyfriend also has an intellectual disability.) Mrs. Green believes that Paige is not ready for sex. Paige learns about Planned Parenthood from a friend and wants to make an appointment. Mrs. Green states that she “is opposed to the practices of Planned Parenthood, and I don’t want to set foot in there.”

Those practices, of course, include killing over 350,000 unborn babies every year. The video doesn’t mention that.

The segment then presents a question-and-answer exercise. The only available answers are “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.”

In response to “Would it be beneficial for Paige to receive reproductive health information?” I answered yes, which was correct — but what I really wanted to say was “Yes, from her regular doctor.” The next question was “Is it safe for Paige to go to Planned Parenthood?” and I answered no. The “correct” answer was yes. The explanation stated: “Although these services could be provided by another source, like Paige’s primary care physician, Planned Parenthood provides reliable and up-to-date information for teens on sexually transmitted diseases, protections, and tests.” (As if her primary care physician wouldn’t?)

The third and final question: “Does going to Planned Parenthood impact the family?” The answer was yes, and the explanation was horrendous: “In this case, Mrs. Green will need to put aside her objections and be supportive of the responsible decision Paige has made. Since Mrs. Green is uncomfortable with Planned Parenthood, it might be reasonable for her to ask Paige if there is another adult she would like to accompany her, and be prepared to respond.”

By this point, I was fuming. Thankfully, there is a mechanism to send feedback on the course. Here was mine:

The “Paige Is Boy Crazy” segment completely misunderstands why a resource parent would object to Planned Parenthood — especially for a child with Down Syndrome. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion chain, and children prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome are at extremely high risk for abortion. Planned Parenthood routinely engages in ableist rhetoric suggesting that abortion is necessary in cases of Down Syndrome. Paige could leave her appointment with the message that she should have been aborted! That would be incredibly harmful to her self-esteem. The proposed work-around for the objecting resource parent — sending another adult to accompany Paige — does not address the real problem. The better approach would be to help Paige obtain contraception and related education from her primary care physician or a federally qualified health center.

I encourage you to send your own feedback, politely, to support@fosterparentcollege.com.