Lubbock Planned Parenthood CEO arrested for indecent exposure
UPDATE 3/15, 7a: LifeNews.com reports Thornton has been ousted as Lubbock Planned Parenthood’s CEO. I hope and pray he takes this opportunity to get help and reconsider his support of abortion.
3/14, 7:38a: Just as Planned Parenthood wrapped up its “Don’t Mess with Texas Women” bus tour across the state bemoaning its funding cut-off, the CEO of Lubbock Planned Parenthood was arrested for indecent exposure.
Planned Parenthood now needs to conduct a “Don’t Mess with Texas Men” bus tour.
According to Amarillo Globe News, March 13:
Tony Thornton, CEO and president of the Planned Parenthood Association of Lubbock, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure Monday afternoon.
Thornton, 56, was arrested at the baseball field on Municipal Drive in Lubbock, said Sgt. Jonathan Stewart with the Lubbock Police Department.
According to the police report, the alleged victim was a 43-year-old male.
Thornton was transported and booked into the Lubbock County jail, the report states.
According to online records, he was released just after 11 a.m. Tuesday….
Thornton became CEO of Planned Parenthood in 2003….
And what was he doing hanging out at a baseball field where children play?
More from The Daily Caller:
[Thornton] was booked at the Lubbock County Detention Center and released Tuesday morning at 11:05after posting a bond of $750.
During the weekend, Thornton participated in protests against Texas’ decision to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood through the state’s Medicaid Women’s Health Program — an action which has resulted in the Obama administration cutting off all federal funds to the Texas program.
Why am I not surprised the CEO of a baby killing facility is a perv?
[HT: LifeNews.com, which has more on Lubbock Planned Parenthood’s nefarious past]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I am not surprised either.
Isn’t this “lifestyle” what Planned Parenthood proposes to our kids?
Have you watched “Hooking Kids on Sex” report by the American Life League (all.org)?
SEX, anytime, anyway, anywhere, with whoever you like!
Planned Parenthood is this devious organization Obama, his administration, and liberals support.
This news should be published on all media outlets all over the Nation.
This is the true face of Planned Parenthood!
Well, well. Color me shocked. The CEO of PP is a perv? Never. Just *has* to be more “anti-choice lies”, right? The “anti-abortion zealots” are just making up crap to make PP look bad, right? Right?
PFFT HAHAHAHA! /sarcasm
Wonder how much national coverage this is going to get. My guess is little to none but every now and then the MSM surprises me. Guess we’ll just have to see.
My only surprise is that Cecile Richards isn’t commending him as a role model for self-centered and creative sexual activity that doesn’t lead to the birth of a baby.
Eric, remember the Jaffe memo?
PP is all about pushing this “lifestyle”. This CEO was just being consistent with what he preached.
In the ALL video “Hooking Kids on Sex” the commentator says “if Planned Parenthood’s literature were to be shown by an old “dirty” man to kids in the park, he would be arrested”.
Well that’s exactly what happened!
I wonder if the Obama administration is going to call on AG Holder to de-criminalize indecent exposure to help Planned Parenthood out!!
Well, adults also use baseball fields and the victim was an adult so I don’t think we can jump the gun here about pedophilia. So far there’s no evidence of it.
Nonetheless this is a sex crime and who knows how long he has been committing such crimes. I certainly don’t think this was a one time urge.
I’m sure men aren’t anxious to report they’ve been flashed, at least not by a man anyway. When I was in advanced practice training, there was a married male doctor notorious for propositioning male students. This was general knowledge, not something the male students were anxious to talk about! We certainly knew what men would hit on the women though.
CC, you’re right, that is wrong and so is this. Which organization is more responsible for societal acceptance of pornography in general, however?
”aren’t their offenses a bit more serious than those committed by a secular organization”.
CC, Are you saying Planned Parenthood has committed offenses? What offenses? Wasn’t this CEO just doing what Planned Parenthood teaches people to do? I think he was just being consistent with Planned Parenthood teachings! This CEO needs Planned Parenthood to refund his $750 bail expense and give him a raise.
CC, it must be harder and harder each day to get up the strength to come here and defend killers and perverts. Why don’t you take some time off? I think it’s getting to you.
“when a devout Catholic “sidewalk counselor”
Devout Catholics don’t murder people (obviously). What about “priests” who are into child porn? I don’t call them priests and they should be put in jail, of course. As far as the lawsuit against Robert Finn, I hope that if he was negligent, the suit is successful. Faithful Catholics WANT the molesters and their protectors out of our midst.
Lame argument: every time a Planned Parenthood advocate gets caught being a perv, point to the Catholic church “Look over there! A priest!” This is to make the point that perverted behavior is just fine as long as you’re not a practicing Catholic.
You people disgust me.
To clarify my response to CC…
I thought, mistakenly it seems, that Robt Finn had made some kind of plea deal in the criminal case against him, but – according to an article from 3/9/12 on the Kansas City Star’s website, Finn is still under indictment for misdemeanor charges of failing to report child abuse. The lawsuit I referred to one that has been filed against Shawn Ratigan (the accused abuser) and the diocese by parents of an alleged victim.
Let’s see, liars, murders, and perverts….not that sounds like a fine place to get healthcare.
Joanne, I agree, by definition a “devout Catholic” is someone who actually follows the catholic faith, its teachings, and precepts (not without making mistakes, but nevertheless they strive).
CC is talking about someone who’s NOT a devout Catholic. What the guys CC refered to has done is NOT part of the Catholic teachings.
There are such people who say they are Catholic, but they’re NOT (e.g. Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, Joe Biden, etc).
On the contrary Planned Parenthood does teach what this CEO practiced.
So, I could say Tony Thornton is indeed a devout Planned Parenthood follower It’s a pity that indecent exposure is till considered a crime!
Sorry for multiple posts…I edited my last comment, but I guess not in time.
“Catholic Church is on a mission from God so aren’t their offenses a bit more serious than those committed by a secular organization”
This is actually another good point, CC. It has disheartened me profoundly to see that so many members of the Catholic hierarchy don’t seem to be motivated by simply doing what’s right. Or to hear some of my fellow Catholics claiming that, for example, the charges against Robert Finn are “persecution” or an attack on the Catholic Church. Some have said that the prosecutor has ulterior motives for pursuing the case. Who knows, maybe he or she does, but so what? Covering up child abuse is still wrong. Law enforcement should never have had to be involved here, because people who say they follow Christ should be policing themselves.
I am joking, of course, but I wanted to highlight the deviancy of Planned Parenthood’s teachings.
If you were Obama and supported Planned Parenthood teachings, logic says, that you would need to ask AG Holder to de-criminalize indecent exposure. Isn’t that absurd?
Yes, the pedophile priests thing was bad, and no, it was not handled properly. I’m not going to try to minimize what happened there, it makes my blood boil thinking about it. It affects everyone, the children, the parents, the people of the community, the priests who are perfectly normal and weren’t involved in the pedophilia or the coverup. It hurts Catholics, it hurts everyone.
But most priests I’ve met are positively wonderful people, or at the worst, simply people if not wonderful ones. It does them a disservice to use pedophile priests as an argument against the Catholic Church if Catholics dare take a stand on things like abortion. That makes my blood boil too.
Too bad cc’s comment was deleted. I’m curious why cc thinks that being on a mission from the ‘sky god’ as she called him would make one’s offenses more serious. What makes the sky god’s followers more serious, cc? Why isn’t secular crime the same, cc? Why do you give a free pass to secular offenders?
When you worked in CPS, cc, did you encourage the authorities to “go easy” on secular offenders but “throw the book at” offenders of the religious persuasion? Why cc? Didn’t you care about the children equally? Why do children who are hurt by someone who isn’t religious not deserve as much justice?
If you are going to indict PP based on this incident, then you’re going to have people indicting the Catholic Church because of a few molesting priests, or the “prolife” movement because of child rapists John Burt or Neal Horsley, or Operation Rescue because it had a few registered sex offenders who were arrested at clinics.
I’m not going to indict Planned Parenthood themselves based on this incident, I have enough reasons to indict them without it. At the end of the day, a man who happened to work for Planned Parenthood was caught doing something wrong and illegal, the same way a few people who happened to be priests were caught doing something wrong and illegal. The difference is that pro-lifers subscribe to a message of life, many of them wholeheartedly and selflessly, and while there are definitely some bad eggs, the same could be said of any group of people. Whereas no amount of “good eggs” will save Planned Parenthood’s message, which is ultimately one of selfishness and one’s own pleasure or convenience no matter the cost to others, hidden behind a cloak of “women’s rights”.
Walt, the law indicts PP! This is not a random incident. Planned Parenthood believes and pushes this kind of behavior as it were perfectly normal! I encourage to watch the ALL.org video “Hooking Kids on Sex”.
The Catholic faith does not promote this or any deviant sexual behavior.
My impression is that you’re trying to divert the conversation away from the “incident”. Am I right?
This man did nothing that hundreds of people (gay, straight, male and female) in Lubbock do all the time. The park where Mr. Thornton was arrested is a common cruising spot for hundreds of people in and around Lubbock. He is no more guilty of doing the same thing that hundreds of people (well-known, good, “Christian”) people in Lubbock (and around the world) do all the time. He’s only guilty of getting caught.
He absolutely should have known better and nothing excuses the fact that he broke the law, but he’s not an evil person.
Also…The majority of services Planned Parenthood provides is affordable healthcare for women and men: PAP tests, breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, birth control, education, men’s services, etc. A VERY small percentage of services is abortion (which is a LEGAL option for women if they so choose). Planned Parenthood saves lives and help birth strong, healthy babies FAR more often than abortions are performed. Without Planned Parenthood thousands of children and mothers would die due to complications from birth.
Why would a respectable company both perform abortions AND try to help mothers have healthy babies? The two cannot be reconciled.
Planned Parenthood themselves, describing the feelings after miscarriage:
“You may feel a mix of emotions that may include disappointment, despair, shock, guilt, grief, and relief. All are normal. Whatever your state of mind, remember: Give yourself permission to grieve this loss. Grief is a normal response to miscarriage, and it should not be made light of or denied. If you have a partner, understand that he or she may need to grieve the loss, too. Your partner may not express his or her emotions the same way you do. But trying to communicate your feelings and support to each other may help each of you cope.”
Sounds fair enough. I can agree with all that.
The same company describing one’s feelings after an abortion:
“You may have a wide range of feelings after your abortion. Most women ultimately feel relief after an abortion. Some women feel anger, regret, guilt, or sadness for a little while. Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are about as uncommon as they are after giving birth. You may be more likely to have emotional problems after abortion for certain reasons. Some of these reasons are: having a history of emotional problems before your abortion, having important people in your life who aren’t supportive of your decision to have an abortion; having to terminate a wanted pregnancy because your health or the health of your fetus is in danger”
So, apparently grieving for a miscarriage is normal but prolonged emotional stress after an abortion might mean you have a history of emotional problems or other outside stresses.
The thing is: Miscarriage and abortion result in the same thing: A dead baby. Or fetus. Or whatever you want to call it. The difference is that one is an accident. It’s very upsetting and saddening, but no one to blame or be angry at as no one really did anything wrong. The other one was done deliberately and violently.
I would NOT trust a company that makes light of the latter while expressing sympathies about the former with my body, not for any reason.
LbkNative are you saying that people in Lubbock do indecent exposure all the time? Scary!
Nevertheless it is illegal.
“Also…The majority of services Planned Parenthood provides is affordable healthcare for women and men: PAP tests, breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, birth control, education…”
LbkNative I see you know very little about Planned Parenthood (besides their usual PR talking points). For example, the ”education” you refer to is on how to engage exactly in the same perverse behavior this CEO has engaged in.
The origin, the business plan, the education efforts, and even the law suits PP is involved in all point in the direction of a corrupt, for profit, shady, unsafe, exploitive organization.
I encourage to watch Maafa21 and Hooking Kids on Sex.
Lies. lies. and more lies:
Planned Parenthood saves lives and help birth strong, healthy babies FAR more often than abortions are performed. Without Planned Parenthood thousands of children and mothers would die due to complications from birth.
Planned Parenthood offers no care AT ALL to mothers who want to keep their babies. Also, the CDC does in fact list maternal mortality from birth. Guess what? Extremely safe. Last time I checked their website, it was .008%. That’s less than 1 percent, less than 330 mothers per year in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES. There are NO reliable numbers for how many women die because of botched abortions.
So, abortion lovers, let’s do the math. If Planned Parenthood kills approximately 350,000 children per year in the US, they are only “saving” 28 mothers. Look again: kill 350,000 to save 28. Now, that is the most inefficient and deadly way to “save” lives that could ever be reckoned. Only a devout and zealous lover of abortion would consider this a viable method of reducing maternal mortality.
Would you like to know what would save more mother’s lives? Simple, basic prenatal care, of which Planned Parenthood offers ZERO. Planned Parenthood in fact kills over 900 babies for every 1 adoption referral. And those aren’t adoption arrangements, people, those are “here’s a number to call since you won’t pay us to kill your kid” referrals.
In summary, if you think 28 equals “thousands” then you need to get a refund from whatever educational institutions you have attended. Epic math FAIL.
“Planned Parenthood offers no care AT ALL to mothers who want to keep their babies.”
That’s what Medicaid and county assistance programs are for. You wouldn’t walk into a dermatologist’s office expecting to get a heart transplant, would you?
No, but my dermatologist doesn’t get taxpayer money and lie and tell people he’s offering me “reproductive health care.” You see, Planned Parenthood doesn’t actually help people to reproduce. They help people kill pre-born babies. If I’m having trouble conceiving, I dare not show up at PP for any of it’s “reproductive healthcare.” I would be laughed out of the building.
I’m glad you piped in Megan, because our Lubbock native needed to read your last sentence. And should re-read it a couple times until it sinks in.
Nothing I said contradicts what LubbockNative wrote. Also, preventing pregnancy is a key part of reproductive healthcare. I’m sorry you think the terminology is a misnomer, but it’s recognized by major public health institutions like the Institute of Medicine and the CDC, and most other western nations. Planned Parenthood isn’t lying when they tell you what they provide.
But maybe you’d like to expand Title X services to include counseling for infertility?
“Planned Parenthood offers no care AT ALL to mothers who want to keep their babies.”
Right because planning for parenthood has absolutely nothing to do with pregnancy and babies!
“Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are about as uncommon as they are after giving birth.”
This is not true.
Post abortive women have a suicide rate 6 times higher than women who give birth.
@hippie
My point exactly in quoting PP themselves on the matter. Talking to some of the women in this very thread I can see how damaging it is. The fact that Planned Parenthood says it doesn’t but DOES acknowledge that miscarriage is cause for grief is just one example of their hypocrisy in this matter.
Megan, I disagree.
Preventing pregnancy (or terminating it) is not health care especially if it comes from the American Birth Control League (a.k.a. Planned Parenthood).
Think about it. Their “education” is all geared towards fostering casual and promiscuous sex as early as possible in order to then sell cheap birth control pills, condoms that Consumer Reports rated last, STD (courtesy of sexual promiscuity) testing and finally when everything they sold has failed, the most lucrative of their services: abortion.
I don’t know if you know that for years they have been engaged in this PR campaign portraying themselves as the most trusted sexual care provider and have said for example that they provide mammograms. But it turns out it’s a big fat lie. There’s no Planned Parenthood clinic that provides mammograms!
As screenings go, they won’t do an ultrasound unless you want to abort the baby.
However, my question for you is the following.
Knowing that Planned Parenthood is in a lawsuit for fraud to Medicaid, that has been exposed as illegally aiding and abetting sex traffickers, has repeatedly lied about services they provide, has engaged in political support and funding of one party, has executives engaged in illegal sexual activities, etc
Do you still trust them? Do you trust the America Birth Control League? Why?
There is probably a perfectly rational explanation here. Like maybe the guy (CEO of Planned Parenthood in Texas) was just checking himself for bruises……. Texas governor Rick Perry had recently kicked this guy really, really, realy hard when Perry cut off Planned Parenthood’s Title X funding in Texas.
And for his second act governor Perry turned around around and kicked another president just as hard. Obama thought he could turn Perry around on his defunding decision by threatening to cut off all Texas Title X funding. Then Perry kicked Obama really, really, really hard too when he stood his ground and decided that Texas would rather pay for their own Title X funding then have the federal government sticking their noses in Texas. If they were checking on Obama they might find he is checking his private parts for bruising too. You can chalk up two ‘presidential’ notches on Perry’s belt buckle this past month.
And then governor Perry turned around around and kicked another president just as hard. Obama thought he could turn Perry around on his defunding decision by threatening to cut off all Texas Title X funding. Then Perry kicked Obama really, really, really hard too when he stood his ground and decided that Texas would rather pay for their own Title X funding then have the federal government sticking their noses in Texas. If they were checking on Obama that might find he is checking his private parts for bruising too. You can chalk up two ‘presidential’ notches on Perry’s belt buckle this past month.
Megan,
If you lived in Lubbock would finding out this guy exposes himself cause you have any inhibitions about going to his clinic for a breast exam or pap smear? What if he was present in the room as a trainer to watch a new breast exam practicioner he had just hired perform the exam?
This man did nothing that hundreds of people (gay, straight, male and female) in Lubbock do all the time. The park where Mr. Thornton was arrested is a common cruising spot for hundreds of people in and around Lubbock. He is no more guilty of doing the same thing that hundreds of people (well-known, good, “Christian”) people in Lubbock (and around the world) do all the time. He’s only guilty of getting caught.
Lubbock native,
Your claim that ordinary people cruise parks exposing themselves is cause for concern.
The latest reports from Fox34 state that “Thornton will no longer serve as the head of the local abortion business and will be replaced by Tara Haskell, formerly the Director of Finance”. In other words, Planned Parenthood fired him.
I think that’s a major blow to Planned Parenthood especially in TX. This whole story clearly shows to Planned Parenthood supporters they better not follow PP own “sexual education” principles. They might in fact end up in jail and even beeing fired by their employers! I am sure Thornton will end up in the sexual predator watch list.
The only thing I don’t quite understand is Thornton’s apology.
After all he was only following what Planned Parenthood preaches.
Just learned of his *termination*. I’m sure it was just for giving PP bad (aka accurate) PR…dare we say *exposing* their true nature…?! But wouldn’t it be nice if PP could be urged to terminate all employees who encourage (profit from) deviant, dangerous, sexual behavior?! Let’s see, there would go their sex-ed “kiddie lit”. And their condom-pushing. And their lies about abc (as in artificial birth control) and abc (as in the abortion-breast cancer link). Oh, and their mockery of chastity and traditional marriage between people who actually regard children as blessings. Oh, but wait; they wouldn’t be in business very long. Hmmm. And the downside to that would be…can’t seem to find one.