A new undercover video released Tuesday by the Center for Medical Progress shows a Planned Parenthood executive discussing possible prices for intact fetal specimens.
In the video, actors posing as buyers ask Dr. Mary Gatter, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Medical Directors’ Council, what she would expect for intact tissue.
She asks a “buyer” what they’re used to paying and eventually suggests $75 per specimen before the actor says, “Oh. That’s way too low.”
“We’re not in it for the money,” Dr. Gatter says. “We don’t want to be in a position of being accused of selling tissue and stuff like that. On the other hand, there are costs associated with the use of our space and all that kind of stuff. So what were you thinking about?”
The new video comes on the heels of a recent one that CMP, a nonprofit group, released in which Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, describes over lunch how she conducts abortions to preserve fetal organs like the heart, lungs and liver.
That video has generated a torrent of criticism from pro-life lawmakers, who are calling for an investigation into the practices.
SEE ALSO: Abby Johnson, Planned Parenthood defector: Loophole allows profits from fetal organ sales
Dr. Gatter goes on to discuss different methods in which the odds of getting an “intact specimen” varies and said she would talk to a surgeon and see how he feels about “using a less crunchy technique to get more whole specimens.”
“The money is not the important thing for me,” but it has to be enough so it’s worthwhile, she says.
“It’s been years since I’ve talked about compensation, so let me just figure out what others are getting, and if this is in the ballpark, then it’s fine, if it’s still low, then we can bump it up,” Dr. Gatter said.
“I want a Lamborghini,” she said with a chuckle.
“Planned Parenthood’s only denial is that they make money off of baby parts, but that is a desperate lie that becomes more and more untenable as CMP reveals Planned Parenthood’s business operations and statements that prove otherwise,” said CMP’s Project Lead David Daleiden.
A spokesman for Planned Parenthood said in a statement Tuesday that the videos “are part of a decade-long campaign of deceiving the public, making false charges, and terrorizing women and their doctors, all in order to ban abortion and cut women off from care at Planned Parenthood.”
“This morning, another very heavily edited video was released by activists who have been widely discredited and who edited a video last week to twist its meaning completely and support false claims,” said Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
In apologizing in the wake of the first video, PPFA President Cecile Richards said the allegation that Planned Parenthood profits “in any way” from tissue donation is not true, saying CMP used “heavily edited” videos to make “outrageous claims.”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has requested that Dr. Nucatola provide a briefing to committee staff on the context and meaning of her statements in the first video and what comments were edited or not portrayed accurately.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is running for president in 2016, sent letters on Monday to the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the CEO of StemExpress requesting documents and additional information “in order to determine their potential involvement in Planned Parenthood’s possible illegal conduct.”
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, another 2016 GOP presidential contender, pledged last week to use “all legislative vehicles at his disposal” to try to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood in the wake of the first video.
In a letter sent to Congress Monday, Roger K. Evans, senior counsel for Planned Parenthood, said CMP selectively edited the first video to create a false impression that Planned Parenthood sells tissue, profits from tissue donation, or violates other laws.
“We don’t know what the Center will release next, but we know enough to be deeply concerned about the infiltration of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates,” Mr. Evans wrote.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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