“The beating heart of an aborted infant seems like an image from Edgar Allen Poe’s horror story ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ but in truth, it’s Cecile Richards’ inhumane profiteering displayed in living color,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (08-19-15) — As horrific depictions in a seventh undercover Planned Parenthood video, released by the Center for Medical Progress, describe Planned Parenthood personnel examining the beating heart of an aborted infant, the inhumanity of the abortion industry is on full display. “The beating heart of a soon-to-be dead infant seems like an image from Edgar Allen Poe’s horror story ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ but in truth, it’s Cecile Richards’ inhumane profiteering displayed in living color,” said Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
In a national column at Fox News, Dr. Yoest went on to discuss this moment in time, as Americans work to confront the evils unveiled in the undercover videos of Planned Parenthood personnel haggling over price, picking through infant body parts and discussing how to make the most money possible from the dead.
She wrote: “Planned Parenthood continues to insist that the videos have been edited to indict them — an odd claim since the full videos, and transcripts, are all available online. In fact, the broader context of each one of the videos released so far, and the ones to come, reveals a deepening morass of moral, ethical and legal entanglement for corporate Planned Parenthood. They may end up wishing the story were only a debate over profit.”
AUL’s legal team has laid out options for Congressional and state officials to address the potential crimes and unethical conduct unveiled in the videos.
“Planned Parenthood must be held accountable,” said Dr. Yoest. “Federal and state investigations into this heavily taxpayer-funded organization must begin with subpoenas of top officials. The federal government has a responsibility to the American people to ensure the integrity of abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood.”
In FY 2014, Planned Parenthood reported that 40% of its nearly $1.3 billion in revenue came at the taxpayers’ expense. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office in March 2015 documented that Planned Parenthood receives half a billion dollars annually from federal and joint federal-state programs. Relying on a heavy stream of funding from the government, Planned Parenthood operates the largest abortion business in the nation. Planned Parenthood clinics perform nearly 900 abortions every single day—327,653 abortions in 2013. According to Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report, abortions were 94% of its pregnancy related services.
In light of the inhumane treatment of infants who died from abortion, AUL also released updated legislation to require the proper handling of their remains. The “Unborn Infants Dignity Act” would prevent abortionists from profiting.
At Fox, Dr. Yoest wrote: “Americans have lived with abortion now for over forty years. Why this moment of outrage? The great William Wilberforce, in his fight against slavery, said of his generation: ‘You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.’ That’s why these videos have created a great moment of national decision. We have been looking the other way for many years. Now we cannot say we did not know.”
Click here to watch the seventh Planned Parenthood video, episode three of the Human Capital Documentary Web Series, entitled “Planned Parenthood’s Custom Abortions for Superior Product.”
Click here to read AULA’s letter to the Senate. And click here to learn more about AUL’s efforts to Investigate Big Abortion.
Click here to learn more about the legal issues surrounding the horrific images of trafficking in infant remains.