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HOUSTON—In an ironic legal twist, the undercover investigators seeking to expose Planned Parenthood as profiting from the sale of fetal remains were themselves charged Monday (Jan. 25) with purchasing fetal remains and tampering with a federal document. No charges were filed against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), the initial target of the investigation.
Following a two-month investigation a Harris County grand jury cleared PPGC of any legal wrongdoing following accusations of selling fetal remains for profit in violation of federal law. Instead, the jury indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for tampering with a government record. Daleiden, who led the undercover sting of Planned Parenthood offices, was also indicted for “prohibition of the purchase and sale of human organs.” Details of the charges against Daleiden and Merritt are still forthcoming from the Harris County District Attorney’s office.
“We respect the processes of the Harris County District Attorney, and note that buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well,” Daleiden said in a statement posted at The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) website. “Planned Parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their leadership about fetal organ sales captured on video for all the world to see.”
CMP spearheaded the three-year undercover operation into allegations that several Planned Parenthood abortion clinics, including PPGC in Houston, sold fetal remains for a profit. Abortion clinics are only allowed to recoup the cost of delivering fetal remains to research facilities. Daleiden and Merritt posed as procurement representatives for a fictitious medical research laboratory in order to gain access to PP abortion clinics in Texas and other states in an attempt to show the organization did more than break even on the transfer of fetal remains.
Abortion rights advocates cheered the turn of events claiming the grand jury vindicated their accusations that The Center for Medical Progress, not Planned Parenthood, was violating the law.
“These people broke the law to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood in order to advance their extreme anti-abortion political agenda,” said Eric Ferreo, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of American (PPFA). “As the dust settles and the truth comes out, it’s become totally clear that the only people who engaged in wrongdoing are the criminals behind this fraud, and we’re glad they’re being held accountable.”
On Jan. 14, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit in federal court charging Daleiden and other pro-life activists with an “elaborate, illegal conspiracy in order to block women’s access to safe and legal abortion.”
The undercover videos produced by CMP released over the course of several months last year revealed, if not illegal activity, a callous attitude toward the abortion process and the aborted remains. Although denying any illegal activity and charging that the videos were “heavily edited,” Cecile Richards, PPFA president, admitted that the videos revealed a callous, seemingly uncaring tone by PP representatives.
During an on-stage interview at the Evangelicals for Life conference in Washington, D.C., last week, Daleiden denied that the videos were illegal or crossed the line of morality by lying.
“I think that undercover work is fundamentally different from lying because the purpose of undercover work is to serve the truth and to bring the truth to greater clarity and to communicate the truth more strongly,” Daleiden said in the interview with Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family.
“Certainly, in normal every life, we don’t always communicate the truth by a simple, one equals one, mathematical way of speaking. We often use poetry and metaphor and even pretext in order to communicate really important truth in a more clear way. Our Lord did that in the Gospels with the parables; it’s often done throughout the Holy Scriptures; and so I see undercover work in that same sort of vein, as a creative way of communicating and speaking that is in service of the truth.”
When asked about his response to critics who cite the videos as being heavily edited, to Daleiden replied that CMP has been “more transparent than any news agency” in showing what goes into the production of video files that wind up as the final cuts seen by the American public.
The videos prompted state and local investigations in Texas and the U.S. Congress and calls for defunding of the largest abortion provider in the nation. Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization, receives almost $500 million in federal funding each year. Pro-life activists have long called for the extrication of tax dollars from the abortion industry.
In a statement released Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state continues its own investigation into the actions of Planned Parenthood as revealed in the videos.
“The State of Texas will continue to protect life, and I will continue to support legislation prohibiting the sale or transfer of fetal tissue,” Abbott said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “The fact remains that the videos exposed the horrific nature of abortion and the shameful disregard for human life of the abortion industry. The state’s investigation of Planned Parenthood is ongoing.”
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said what began as an investigation of alleged criminal activity by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast led to a different conclusion.
“As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us. All the evidence uncovered in the course of this investigation was presented to the grand jury. I respect their decision on this difficult case,” said Anderson in prepared statement.
The charges of tampering with a governmental record is a 2nd degree felony. The attempted purchase of human organs is a Class A misdemeanor.
