Planned Parenthood’s practice of selling fetal tissue is discussed throughout 400-plus pages of findings from a congressional panel regarding the abortion industry. Yet, possibly the revelation of “the markup of an intact fetal brain from $55 paid to the Planned Parenthood affiliate versus the $3,340 charge to the customer” seems in need of more public discussion as many have been calling for the defunding of the organizations which profit off the selling and re-selling of baby body parts and organs.
The House Select Panel on Infant Lives, which investigated potential criminal charges aimed at the organization and other affiliated entities profiteering from the selling of human fetal tissue, tries to answer some of the issues raised since videos of an undercover investigation were made public by the organization CMS, or the Center for Medical Progress.
The final report, available online from the Energy and Commerce congressional panel , discusses some of the debate regarding the topic. From October 2015, California Rep. Mimi Walters described her feelings of investigating “claims related to Planned Parenthood’s activities involving abortion and fetal tissue procurement” to colleagues.
“Like many Americans, I was horrified by the recent videos which depicted Planned Parenthood employees callously discussing the trafficking and sale of aborted babies’ tissues and organs.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn is quoted about looking further into the matter as well. She described a desire to answer “troubling questions.”
“I want to clearly state this is about getting answers of how we treat and protect life in this country. The select panel will act to centralize the investigations that are at the Energy and Commerce Committee, Judiciary and Oversight Committees, and bring it all under one umbrella. Over the past several weeks, we have had lots of serious questions. They are troubling questions that have been asked.”
“Our panel was tasked with investigating areas that, prior to the revelations of undercover journalists, received too little attention,” Representative Marsha Blackburn is quoted as saying in an article from Charisma News . “For most of us, it is nothing short of an outrage that Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics supplement their budgets by selling human fetal tissue from aborted babies.”
But Blackburn had more to say on the issue. She described the parameters of the investigation.
“The House charged members of this panel with investigating fetal tissue trafficking, second- and third-trimester abortion practices, the standard of care for infants who survive abortions and the role played by our taxpayer dollars in this sector of society. Over the last year, we have held hearings that explored the bioethics surrounding fetal tissue use and that revealed the sobering reality of how some bad actors seek to profit from the sale of fetal tissue in violation of federal law.”
Statements made before the House panel in September 2015 questioned the coercing of states to provide taxpayer monies “to ethically and legally challenged organizations like Planned Parenthood.”
From Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel M. Casey Mattox, the following points are made in official statements to the House panel.
“Despite providing only a limited selection of medical services, Planned Parenthood annually receives over a half billion in taxpayer dollars,” Mattox said. “Last year alone, the non-profit also reported $127 million ‘excess revenue.’ Over the last 10 years, while its Medicaid funding has increased and it has accumulated approximately $750 million in ‘excess revenue,’ Planned Parenthood has reduced its cancer screenings by half and increased its abortions, even as the national abortion rate has declined. ”
Matrox continued in the official transcript.
“The states are ultimately responsible for their state Medicaid programs and the providers they approve to participate in them,” Mattox told the congressional panel. “Even prior to the release of the videos by the Center for Medical Progress, many states had evidence of violations of state and federal laws that would have called into doubt the continuation of Medicaid Provider Agreements with any provider other than Planned Parenthood. Congress can and should reaffirm that the Administration may not coerce the states to contribute taxpayer monies to ethically and legally challenged organizations like Planned Parenthood.”
A national Planned Parenthood executive, identified as “PP Witness No. 1” was interviewed for the report and according to Charisma , questions were asked about the profits being made on “aborted human baby body parts and organs by StemExpress.”
The report says that “[t]he questions were focused on the markup of an intact fetal brain from $55 paid to the Planned Parenthood affiliate versus the $3,340 charge to the customer[.]”
To pull a bit of the conversation out, the interviewer wanted to know “… what’s sort of the global management perspective of a Planned Parenthood senior leader like you if that’s a 2,800-percent profit.”
The executive wanted clarification.
“So just so that I’m clear on the question, you’re asking me if it bothers me that StemExpress makes money reselling the tissue?”
“Yes,” the exec was told then.
“It’s none of my concern. It doesn’t bother me.”
A former StemExpress employee named Holly O’Donnell is also mentioned in the report notes. O’Donnell “… also testified that she personally witnessed a child delivered after an abortion and whose heart would still beat when prompted by a technician.” This may underscore potential “violations of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act and similar state laws,” per the report.
Planned Parenthood’s receiving of taxpayer monies may be at stake after this report.
[Featured Image by Alex Brandon/AP Images]