Planned Parenthood is under fire after a hidden-camera video has surfaced that appears to show a top executive at the organization discussing the sale of fetal tissue and how abortion procedures are sometimes tailored to preserve fetal organs for research.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is launching an investigation into charges that the group is involved in the illegal sale of fetal body parts for profit.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.)
“This video is abhorrent and rips at the heart,” Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and other GOP members of the committee wrote in a statement. “The committee will get to the bottom of this appalling situation.”
State-level investigations also are being launched by the governors of Texas and Louisiana.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) disputes the charges, saying that they help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research with full, appropriate consent from patients and “under the highest ethical and legal standards,” according to a statement from Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications.
“There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood,” he said. “In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed, which is standard across the medical field.”
The video, posted on YouTube, shows a conversation between Dr. Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services at PPFA, and two individuals who were posing as employees of a biologics company. In the video, filmed as they were eating lunch, Dr. Nucatola discusses the demand for some fetal tissue for research purposes and how the tissue is retrieved.
The video was made by The Center for Medical Progress, which said that the video is just one part of a 3-year investigation into Planned Parenthood and what it calls “illegal trafficking of aborted fetal parts.” The group alleges that Planned Parenthood is selling fetal tissue in violation of federal law.
Planned Parenthood said the video, which was recorded secretly, was heavily edited and falsely represents their participation in tissue donation programs.
“Similar false accusations have been put forth by opponents of abortion services for decades,” Mr. Ferrero said. “These groups have been widely discredited and their claims fall apart on closer examination, just as they do in this case.”
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
On Twitter @maryellenny