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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has directed state police to open a criminal investigation into allegations that staff at a Fairfax County school arranged abortions for students without parental consent, potentially using public money.
Officials at Centreville High School allegedly arranged and bankrolled abortions for girls in 2021, including a 17-year-old, without notifying their parents.
School administrators may have known the staff-arranged abortions were happening, and school funding may have been used, which could include local, state and federal funds, according to reports.
“I am deeply concerned with the allegations that Fairfax County Public Schools officials arranged for minors to get abortions without parental consent and may have misused public funds to pay for them,” Youngkin said in a statement on Wednesday.
“I am directing the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation to open a full criminal investigation into the matter immediately,” he added.
The school system, Fairfax County Public Schools, said an investigation was launched after it learned of the allegations at Centreville High School.
“We have serious questions about these allegations that must be answered,” FCPS said in a previous statement to Fox News Digital. “At no time would the situation as described in these allegations from back in 2021 be acceptable in Fairfax County Public Schools.”
“We have taken immediate action engaging an external investigator to get the facts,” the district added. “We all deserve to know exactly what happened. We will take appropriate action as necessary.”
Asked earlier this month about whether FCPS staff have ever arranged abortions for students, including in this case, the district told WJLA it was not aware of any instances.
“Not to [our] knowledge. We have launched an immediate investigation into these concerns as soon as we were made aware,” the district told the outlet.
FCPS policy states that “every effort shall be made to encourage and support students suspecting pregnancy to discuss their concerns with their parents or guardians.” However, it does not say FCPS employees should inform parents about those conversations.
Pro-life groups have condemned the “secretly arranged” abortions for students at Centreville High School.
“A Fairfax high school secretly arranged and paid for student abortions—without telling parents,” 40 Days for Life wrote on X. “This isn’t ‘healthcare.’ It’s state-funded child exploitation. Every official involved must be held accountable.”
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