Last month NRL News Today carried a story headlined, “House Committee to investigate Planned Parenthood’s role in obtaining intact fetal body parts, Senate committee asks for detailed records.”
The Senate committee mentioned is the powerful Judiciary Committee, chaired by pro-life Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.)
On July 15, Sen. Grassley’s office released a statement explaining that Senator Grassley “is making inquiries to Planned Parenthood and the Justice Department following media reports of a video describing in detail Planned Parenthood’s role in the harvesting of fetal tissue. … In his initial inquiry to Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, Grassley began asking questions about the organization’s facilitation of the activities described in the video.”
On Tuesday we learned that Sen. Grassley has broadened his inquiry in a couple of different ways. On July 16, he made “ inquiries to the three companies noted in the videos as acquiring fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood. StemExpress, Advanced Bioscience Resources, and Novogenix were asked to provide the committee with information about items such as communications, contracts, revenue and costs associated with their involvement with Planned Parenthood and its affiliates.”
In addition, according to a statement, on July 23, he “ requested information from each of the Planned Parenthood affiliates regarding each affiliate’s fetal tissue policies as well as copies of documents such as policies, presentations, guidance, and communications related to its facilitation of the procurement and distribution of fetal tissue.”
And, most recently, “Grassley requested from the Center for Medical Progress all videos and documents related to its fetal tissue investigation that may lawfully be provided to the committee.”
The Center for Medical Progress has released five undercover videos in which Planned Parenthood officialdom talks with brutally dehumanizing candor about how the affiliates can provide the fictitious organ retrieval company with intact baby body parts that include hearts, lungs, eyes, skulls, livers, brains–“Everything,” as one official from Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast explained.
In the July 16 letter to the three companies, Sen. Grassley begins
As you are likely aware, a video has recently surfaced in the media in which Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director for Medical Services, Deborah Nucatola, discusses at length Planned Parenthood’s role in the harvesting of fetal tissue. In the video, she describes, among other things, the fetal organs available for harvesting, the cost per “specimen,” and the coordination with abortion providers to modify their procedures in particular cases to preserve selected organs in order to fill particular orders. Additionally, Nucatola allegedly stated that she encourages local affiliates to determine which fetal organs are most in-demand and described how abortion providers allegedly alter the method of abortion to keep the desired organs intact.
The video also includes an edited-in shot of Stem Express’s online order form for fetal tissue. Nucatola further specifically mentions that Stem Express had approached the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in an effort to get PPFA to develop a more centrally-coordinated process for facilitating Stem Express’s acquisition of fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood’s individual affiliates.
In Sen. Grassley’s July 23 letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates, he begins
As you are likely aware, last week a video surfaced in the media in which the Senior Director for Medical Services for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Deborah Nucatola, discusses at length Planned Parenthood’s role in the harvesting and distribution of fetal tissue. In that video, she appears to describe, among other things, the fetal organs available for harvesting, the cost per “specimen,” and the coordination with abortion providers to modify their procedures in particular cases to preserve selected organs in order to fill particular orders. Nucatola also explains that the transfer of fetal tissue is largely handled at Planned Parenthood’s affiliate level, with the national organization providing some level of coordination. This week, a second video was released, in which the President of PPFA Medical Directors’ Council, Mary Gatter, appears to haggle over the price of fetal tissue and to discuss modifying abortion procedures to harvest such fetal tissue.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
