Margaret Datiles Watts
October 15, 2015
Reproduced with Permission
Culture of Life Foundation
Over the past several weeks, the release of
investigative videos
exposing Planned Parenthood's alleged practice of making profits by illegally selling aborted human baby organs has ignited a national debate and launched a Congressional investigation into the possible criminal activities by America's number-one abortion provider.
Why Does Planned Parenthood Merit A Criminal Investigation?
These undercover videos have been proven by forensic examinations (including one commissioned by Planned Parenthood) to be authentic, with no dubbing or alteration to the audio. The videos show Planned Parenthood senior directors and doctors discussing:
-
Their long-standing coordinated practices of selling aborted human fetal organs and tissue to various companies;
-
The sizeable net profits they have made or would like to make from the sales;
-
The growing network of Planned Parenthood clinics and buyers involved;
-
Incidents where an intact infant is delivered and his/her heart is still beating prior to the beginning or completion of an abortion procedure;
-
Abortion techniques they use to obtain intact babies that will yield more profitable specimens - specifically, performing a partial-birth abortion by turning the baby to a breech position in order to deliver the baby alive and intact until only the head is left inside, and then killing the baby by evacuating the contents of the skull;
-
Abortion techniques to "crush below" and "crush above" the thorax or "change the presentation" of the baby to intentionally keep the heart, lungs and liver intact for resale; and
-
Recurring incidents where the consent of the mother to donate the fetal tissue/organs was not obtained and knowledge of the donation was intentionally hidden from her.
The videos also show a former employee of StemExpress, LLC (a tissue procurement company) discussing the company's procurement from Planned Parenthood of an infant born alive and intact after the attempted abortion:
…she taps the heart and it starts beating…the nodes were still firing…It had a face…Since the fetus was so intact she said, 'ok, well, this is a really good fetus and it looks like we can procure a lot from it. We're going to procure the brain.
Based on these videos, it appears that Planned Parenthood could be criminally liable under at least the following federal laws:
-
42 USC §289g-2(a)
. - Prohibits the sale of human fetal tissue for profit;
-
1 USC §8
. - Defines infants born alive, at any stage of development, (breathing, with a beating heart and/or voluntary muscle movement) after an abortion or an attempted abortion as human beings entitled to full legal protection of the law;
-
18 USC §1531
. - Prohibits the performance of partial-birth abortion;
-
42 USC §289(g)(1)(b)(1)-(2)
. - Requires a written statement of (1) informed consent of the woman to donate the fetal tissue and (2) full disclosure to the woman of the physician's profit and of any additional medical risks; and
-
42 USC §289(g)(1)(b)(2)(A)(ii)
. - Prohibits the alteration of abortion techniques in order to keep certain organs intact.
The Congressional Response to Planned Parenthood
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives began an
investigation
with three purposes: (1) to probe into Planned Parenthood's alleged criminal fetal organ harvesting and profiting scheme, (2) to the determine the sufficiency (or insufficiency) of existing federal laws surrounding this issue, and (3) to examine the use of federal funds by Planned Parenthood. Three committees conducted investigative hearings: the
Judiciary Committee
, the
Energy and Commerce Committee
, and the
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
.
Among other things, the Congressional investigation has resulted in the introduction of new legislation. The following bills have been passed by the House and now await a Senate vote:
-
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015
,
H.R. 3134
- The bill prohibits funding to Planned Parenthood for one year unless it certifies that no federal funds will be used for abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. President Obama has vowed to veto the measure if it is passed in the Senate;
-
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
,
H.R. 3504
- This bill requires that any child born alive as a result of an abortion or attempted abortion must be provided immediate medical care and transferred to a hospital, and makes any individual liable for murder who performs an overt act to kill the child after being born alive; and
-
Women's Public Health and Safety Act
,
H.R. 3495
- This bill gives states the option to include only health care providers who do not perform abortions in their Medicaid programs.
The House announced on October 7 that it will create a new
select panel
solely dedicated to continuing the aggressive, in-depth investigation into Planned Parenthood, as the abortion giant's motive for providing "women's health care" has been called into serious question. As a former Planned Parenthood manager put it during the Congressional hearings, "No business, certainly no health care clinic, should view a woman's body as a profit center, yet that is exactly what Planned Parenthood does."
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