The deceptively edited undercover video purported to show a Planned Parenthood employee saying they sold fetal tissue for profit.
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David Daleiden, director of the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress, and Sandra Merritt ended up being indicted by a Houston grand jury looking into their claims of wrongdoing by the women’s health organization.
Both of the activists face a charge of tampering with a governmental record, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Speaking to LifeNews, Daleiden said the videos that he and Merritt made clearly showed Planned Parenthood had potentially broken several state and federal laws in their activities of selling aborted baby parts.
The criminals who conspired and acted in creating false video evidence of organ and tissue sales against Planned Parenthood have been charged.
Daleiden and Merritt have never denied making and using the fake IDs to gain access to the Planned Parenthood meetings.
“This is absolutely great news because it is a demonstration of what Planned Parenthood has said from the very beginning: We follow every law and regulation, and these anti-abortion activists broke multiple laws to try and spread lies”, said spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. Others questioned the capacity of federally qualified health-care centers or pregnancy crisis centers to take on Planned Parenthood clientele, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
A Texas investigation into Planned Parenthood, which provides health services and abortions, on Monday culminated in an indictment – of the organization’s accusers, the Center for Medical Progress.
The grand jury reviewed the case for more than two months and its decision was a result of a probe launched a year ago under Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who accusedPlanned Parenthood of the “gruesome harvesting of baby body parts”.
“I’m not really sure we have the capacity in those rural communities to pick up the slack, even if it goes to the county health department”, said Democratic Sen. “That procurement statute requires intent, and everyone in the country knows David Daleiden had no intention to buy baby body parts”, he added in his statement.
“The only time we re-present is if new evidence comes to light”, she said.
“I think Planned Parenthood is great in some aspects, but I don’t agree with the abortion part of it”, Thompson said. Yates said no date has been set for when that would happen.
Breen said he did not want to speculate as to why an investigation that began focused on Planned Parenthood suddenly turned on its accusers instead, but he said the district attorney should use her authority to drop the charges. Under federal law, profiting from the sale of fetal tissue is illegal.
(Photo: CMP)David Daleiden, head of the California-based pro-life group the Center for Medical Progress. Vetuschi and her husband Phil believe the grand jury returned the wrong indictment.
The Harris County grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.
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“I have this sign here that just says, ‘Let hope draw you past Fear, choose life, ‘ because not only for the unborn child, but for the women, too”, Conroy said.
