“Today’s undercover video reveals a top Planned Parenthood doctor haggling over prices for the body parts of unborn victims of abortion while ghoulishly joking about wanting a Lamborghini, meanwhile taxpayers are sending $1.26 million tax dollars a day to support the nation’s number one abortion conglomerate,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest. “It’s time to free the American taxpayer from their forced support of Abortion, Inc. Taxpayers should not be contributing to abortion profiteering.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (07-21-15) – “For a second time, The Center for Medical Progress has released a shocking video, revealing the dirty underbelly of Planned Parenthood’s profiteering as it turns women and their unborn children into commodities,” said Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. Today’s video features a conversation with the President of the Planned Parenthood Medical Director’s Council, Dr. Mary Gatter, who negotiates the beginnings of a contract to sell the body parts of the unborn for $100 per piece and her willingness to alter how she does abortions to a “less crunchy technique” to get more whole specimens for sale.
“While Cecile Richards claims that Planned Parenthood does not profit from the sale of aborted babies, Dr. Gatter notes that “[the compensation] has to be big enough that it makes it worthwhile for me,” noted Yoest. “This certainly sounds like a discussion of profit.”
“Real healthcare respects life. Planned Parenthood respects a fat bottom line,” said Dr. Yoest. “Every day 1.26 million taxpayer dollars are directed to the nation’s largest abortion chain. In fact, taxpayer dollars accounted for at least 40% of Planned Parenthood’s total revenue. And while the number of abortions has gone up, life-saving healthcare has gone down. Under Cecile Richards’ leadership, Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening and prevention services have been cut by more than half.”
“It’s time for state and federal investigations to examine whether laws have been broken by Planned Parenthood, and it’s time to get the American taxpayer out of the business of abortion,” Dr. Yoest said.
In 1993, the United States Congress enacted, 42 U.S.C. 289g, regulating fetal research in general. In particular, 42 U.S.C. 289g-2(a) makes it unlawful for any person ‘to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce.’
42 U.S.C. 289g-2(e)(3) defines ‘valuable consideration’ to exclude ‘reasonable payments associated with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of human fetal tissue.’ A legal issue will be whether PP received ‘valuable consideration’ in their selling of the broken bodies of aborted infants.
“This means that it is illegal for Planned Parenthood to have profited from the sale of aborted hearts, livers and lungs. Let’s not lose sight of the spirit of the law in a discussion of the letter of the law. Planned Parenthood’s selling of the broken bodies of unborn children is inhumane and troubling no matter how any investigation concludes. And if Planned Parenthood’s conduct does not violate the federal law prohibiting the sale of fetal tissue and organs, then the law must be changed.”
To learn more about AUL’s legal assessment of Planned Parenthood’s sale of hearts, lungs and livers of unborn victims of abortion, click here.