But the very same grand jury has indicted David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), who organized, filmed, and released the undercover “60 Minutes”-style videos, for supposedly violating the very same Texas statute, which also prohibits the attempted purchase of human organs”.
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25, 2016, a grand jury indicted Daleiden and one of his colleagues, Sandra Merritt, on a felony charge for using fake driver’s licenses to gain access to a Planned Parenthood facility in Texas.
“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast”, Anderson said in a statement.
After a series of videos released last summer raised inflammatory accusations that Planned Parenthood was callously profiting from the sale of fetal tissue, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas asked a county prosecutor to investigate the organization.
Hannah Brass Greer, Idaho legislative director and public affairs manager for Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest, said her organization was, “pleased though not surprised”, when the grand jury handed up the indictments against the man and woman behind a scheme that involved recording covert videos of Planned Parenthood employees purportedly discussing the sale of fetal tissue.
Planned Parenthood has said a few clinics in two states used to accept legally allowed reimbursement for the costs of providing tissue donated by some of its abortion clients.
Planned Parenthood Federation president Cecile Richards (R) is embraced by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) before her testimony at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington September 29, 2015. Instead, the grand jury has unexpected indicted two anti-abortion activists who shot that video.
Despite the assertions of the fraudulently obtained and deeply misleading videos, Planned Parenthood does not profit from fetal tissue donations. Planned Parenthood did not reply to the email, according to the report.
“Planned Parenthood and NAF are working to shut down Daleiden’s investigation of the abortion groups’ involvement in baby parts trafficking”, Brejcha continues.
Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney, said in a statement, “The fact remains that the videos exposed the horrific nature of abortion and the shameful disregard for human life of the abortion industry”.
“The Health and Human Service Commission’s Inspector General and the Attorney General’s office have an ongoing investigation into Planned Parenthood’s actions”, said Governor Abbott.
Daleiden and Merritt, working under the aegis of Center for Medical Progress, hatched a sort of home-made sting operation and raised questions that went all the way to a grand jury.
After all, they cited these videotapes when calling to end the use of fetal tissue in medical research and ban abortions after 20 weeks.
District Attorney Anderson said, “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us”. They can either turn themselves into the Houston court, where they each face a $10,000 bail, or they could be extradited to Harris County, the lawyer said.
Recently, Planned Parenthood announced it was filing a civil suit in California against the individuals associated with the Center for Medical Progress who made the videos. She said the case illustrates “a pattern” in the Harris County district attorney’s office of failing to issue indictments in “abortion-related” cases despite significant evidence that abortionists have committed crimes.
“If the patient agrees to it, the fetal and placental tissue is collected through suction and deposited in a glass jar connected to the suction device, as per Planned Parenthood protocol”, the documents state.
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LUDDEN: Right. Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood’s affiliate in California brought a civil suit accusing Daleiden and some others of conspiracy and fraud. “I respect the grand jury’s decision on this hard case”, she said in Monday’s press release.
