How Planned Parenthood’s Admission Of Selling Fetal Parts Violates Federal Law – Or Doesn’t [Video]

By now, most people have had several days to absorb the disturbing video of a top Planned Parenthood physician talking about how they abort fetuses in a way to salvage particular organs to be sold as specimens. And while congress has vowed to investigate the meaning and truths behind the video that was made by someone posing as a buyer of fetal tissue, the rest of the country is grappling with what is illegal, and what is not. And the uncomfortable truth is, some of it may be up for interpretation. The gist of the issue now is whether the money is “donated” to cover reimbursement of planned parenthood, or whether the tissue is being sold for a profit, which is the key factor as to whether or not it is a felony to sell fetal parts.

There’s no doubt that the video had a political agenda – to attempt to expose the fact that fetal tissue, in particular further along gestated tissue, has a real value on the medical market. That’s not particularly news, but Planned Parenthood admitting to getting money for particular parts is. The doctor in the video admits to gaining “$40 to $100” per specimen, which she says includes livers, hearts, and lungs, which are fetal tissue in particularly high demand with stem cell research. Watch the “sting” video (which has claimed by some to be heavily edited) here.

It is a federal felony to sell fetal tissue. However, there is a caveat – it is legal to be reimbursed for the transportation and storage of such tissue. So, which is Planned Parenthood actually participating in? We may have to wait until the probe of Congress to see.

However, one admission that is of concern any way you look at it is the method in which the fetus is extracted from the woman during the abortion procedure. The procedure that is supposed to be used under federal law is that which is of lowest risk to women, dependent on several factors, such as fetal gestational age. However, the doctor from planned parenthood admitted on video that sometimes, in order to avoid crushing “in demand” fetal organs, the doctor performing the abortion would flip the baby into the breech position, which allows him to crush above and below the thorax, and may essentially result in a so-called “partial birth abortion” in which the head is delivered last. The ethical dilemma is that this may not always be safest for the woman, just the best method for harvesting organs. This is another probe that congress must look into.

Federal law also states that any fetus born alive, regardless of method of procedure, must be given every effort at survival and may not be killed after it has exited the woman’s body. In some cases, this may mean all but the head has exited the woman’s body, and in this case, a gray area is entered.

While Planned Parenthood states that their statements were heavily edited and taken out of context, several statements were made that could be interpreted to violate federal law. What are your feelings on the issue? Please share in the comment section below.

[photo by Ave Maria Radio]