Twenty groups that oppose abortion insist that a special panel investigating fetal tissue research has collected enough evidence to block federal funds from Planned Parenthood.
The groups asked Congress to pass legislation restricting Planned Parenthood from getting federal reimbursements for non-abortion healthcare services, in a letter sent Thursday to House leadership and members of the Select Panel on Infant Lives. The panel was created last year in the wake of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood as a supplier of aborted fetal tissue.
“The violations in Planned Parenthood’s baby parts program — of federal law and regulations, of patient privacy and safety, and of basic human dignity — go even deeper than the public or the public’s elected representatives previously recognized,” the groups wrote.
Democrats on the panel have recently insisted that Republicans disband it, arguing that two hearings so far amounted to little more than a witch hunt aimed at hurting abortion rights and undermining medical research.
But the anti-abortion groups, which include Alliance Defending Freedom, March for Life, Live Action and the Susan B. Anthony List among others, outlined what they view as incriminating and key findings by the panel.
The panel has undercovered “probable cause” that Planned Parenthood violated federal prohibitions against profiting from fetal tissue, and that it conspired with the tissue company StemExpress to violate federal statute against fetal trafficking, they wrote.
They also pointed to contracts between Planned Parenthood and StemExpress obtained by the panel that provided for a $55 payment for every “usable” fetus, noting that the payments weren’t based on facility usage or staff time, but rather on the volume of aborted fetuses provided to StemExpress.
The anti-abortion groups also said there’s evidence that Planned Parenthood violated medical privacy laws by sharing information with StemExpress about the pregnant women donating the aborted fetuses, and misled women by providing inaccurate information about the possibilities of using aborted fetal tissue to find cures.
“The end result of these sordid arrangements for fetal organ harvesting is nothing short of barbaric,” the groups wrote.
The special committee, led by GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn and comprised of about a dozen Republicans and Democrats, may hold a third hearing before it’s required to submit a report on its findings by the end of the year. The Republican-led House voted to defund Planned Parenthood earlier this year, but President Obama vetoed the measure.
