Two young women have stepped forward with disturbing claims about what happened to them in 2021 while they were students at Centreville High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. The former students say school officials — including a social worker and the principal — arranged abortions for them without telling their parents and used school funds–taxpayer dollars–to cover the costs. One young woman says she was 17 and five months pregnant when she was told abortion was her “only choice.” She ran out of the clinic in tears. The other woman says she went through with the abortion after being sworn to secrecy.
Fairfax County Public Schools has launched an investigation into the allegations. If true, Centreville High School staff have egregiously abused their power and betrayed the trust, not only of Virginia taxpayers, but the parents whose rights were ignored and, especially, of the young women whose futures and health they placed at risk.
Virginia’s parental-notification law exists to protect minors from this precise kind of coercion and secrecy. When adults in positions of authority cut parents out of the picture, they remove the very people most invested in a child’s well-being and best equipped to provide help. That parental vacuum leaves vulnerable girls open to manipulation, whether from abusers, traffickers, or authority figures misusing their position of trust.
While the abortion industry often downplays risks, abortion — especially later in pregnancy — carries both physical and emotional dangers. Second-trimester abortions have higher rates of medical complications, including infection and heavy bleeding. Just as significantly, research shows that women who undergo abortion in circumstances of pressure, secrecy, or without support are far more likely to experience emotional trauma, depression, and regret. For a minor, those wounds can last a lifetime.
Pregnancy help organizations provide the opposite experience of what these women allegedly faced. Instead of pressuring a woman toward one option, these centers offer compassionate, nonjudgmental support; practical resources like maternity housing, parenting classes, baby supplies, and medical referrals; safe, confidential guidance that includes parents or other trusted adults, when possible; and life-affirming care that empowers her to make an informed choice without fear or coercion. Every young woman facing an unexpected pregnancy deserves to know she is not alone — and that she has options beyond abortion.
Tweet This: Every young woman facing an unexpected pregnancy deserves to know she is not alone — and that she has options beyond abortion.
If Centreville High School staff used public money to fund these abortions in 2021, every Virginian — and every American — should be outraged. Taxpayer dollars should never be used to end a child’s life, and they should never fund secret procedures that strip away parental rights and expose vulnerable girls to further harm. If these allegations are confirmed, Fairfax County Public Schools must hold the perpetrators legally, professionally, and publicly accountable. Parents deserve assurance that their daughters are safe at school. Students need to know they can turn to trusted adults for real help, not manipulation.
This alleged abuse of authority reinforces what the pro-life community has known all along: abortion doesn’t actually solve problems — it hides them. Too often, it also hides abuse. Pregnancy help centers meet women in their moment of crisis with love, truth, and tangible help. Every woman — and every girl — deserves better than what allegedly happened in Fairfax County.
