released an undercover video of an
executive at Planned Parenthood sipping
red wine while discussing in graphic detail
how to abort a fetus to preserve its organs
for medical research — and also the costs
associated with sharing that tissue with
scientists.
The video, filmed by a group called the
Center for Medical Progress, threatens to
reignite a long -standing debate over the
use of fetal tissue harvested through
abortions, and could add fuel to efforts
seeking to ban abortions after 20 weeks of
pregnancy.
In a statement , a spokesman for Planned
Parenthood said the video misrepresents
the organization ’s work. Planned
Parenthood clinics, with a patient ’s
permission, may sometimes donate fetal
tissue for use in stem -cell research, said
the spokesperson, who added that the
group’ s affiliates, which operate
independently, do not profit from these
donations.
“At several of our health centers , we help
patients who want to donate tissue for
scientific research, and we do this just like
every other high -quality health care
provider does —with full , appropriate
consent from patients and under the
highest ethical and legal standards ,”
spokesman Eric Ferrero said. “ In some
instances, actual costs , such as the cost to
transport tissue to leading research centers,
are reimbursed, which is standard across
the medical field .”
He accused the Center for Medical Progress
of mounting a misleading attack , similar to
other groups that have tried to mount
undercover “ stings” targeting Planned
Parenthood.
But anti -abortion groups said the video
shows that Planned Parenthood is
essentially selling fetal organs and that
Congress and other authorities should
investigate.
Buying and selling human fetal tissue is
illegal in the United States . Federal
regulations also prohibit anyone from
altering the timing or method of an
abortion for the sole purpose of later using
the tissue in research. Donating the tissue
for research, however, is legal with a
woman’ s consent.
Anti- abortion groups also said the callous
nature of the discussion captured on film
should tug at viewers ’ consciences —
particularly when Deborah Nucatola,
Planned Parenthood’s senior director of
medical research, apparently describes
“crushing ” the fetus in ways that keep its
internal organs intact , and her remarks
about researchers ’ desire for lungs and
livers.
“I ’d say a lot of people want liver , ” she
says in the video posted on the Center for
Medical Progress’s Web site , between bites
of salad. “ And for that reason, most
providers will do this case under
ultrasound guidance, so they’ ll know
where they ’re putting their forceps. ”
She continues : “ We ’ve been very good at
getting heart, lung , liver , because we know
that, so I’m not gonna crush that part , I’ m
gonna basically crush below, I ’m gonna
crush above , and I’m gonna see if I can get
it all intact .”
The group also posted a nearly three- hour
version of the video that it ’ s calling the
“full footage. ” Over lunch at a Los Angeles -
area restaurant, the unidentified activists,
a man and a woman, told Nucatola they
worked for a fetal tissue collection center
that aimed to snare “ a competitive
advantage” by providing local samples for
researchers who ’d like to avoid lengthy
trips between clinic and lab . They said they
worked in Norwalk , a suburb of Los
Angeles.
“Every provider has patients who want to
donate their tissue , and they want to
accommodate them, ” says Nucatola. “ They
just want to do it in a way that is not
perceived as: This clinic is selling tissue.
This clinic is making money off this . In the
Planned Parenthood world , they ’re very,
very sensitive to that . Some affiliates might
do it for free . They want to come to a
number that looks like a reasonable
number for the effort that is allotted on
their part ... ”
One activist asks , “Okay, so, when you are
—or when the affiliate is—determining
what that monetary .. .So that it doesn ’t
raise the question of. ..‘ This is what it ’s
about.. .’— What price range would you ... ?”
“You know, I would throw a number out, I
would say it ’ s probably anywhere from
$30 to $ 100, depending on the facility and
what’s involved, ” says Nucatola. “ It just
has to do with space issues, are you
sending someone there that’ s going to be
doing everything .. .is there shipping
involved? Is someone going to be there to
pick it up ?”""
Whole article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/undercover-video-shows-planned-parenthood-exec-discussing-organ-harvesting/2015/07/14/ae330e34-2a4d-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html
Youtube video here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jjxwVuozMnU&itct=CDkQpDAYACITCN3q3sXw28YCFYrefgodZykGYVIScGxhbm5lZCBwYXJlbnRob29k&client=mv-google&gl=US&hl=en
Edited by
RebelArcher
on Tue 07/14/15 05:30 PM
