Her organization’s reputation on the rocks, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards is scrambling to deflect the focus to the pro-life group behind two damaging undercover videos — and she is getting some help.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris, a staunch Planned Parenthood supporter, said Friday that she would investigate claims of wrongdoing against the Center for Medical Progress, the California-based organization that ignited a national uproar with the release of videos featuring Planned Parenthood doctors.
In a letter to four House Democrats, Ms. Harris says she will “carefully review the allegations raised in your letter to determine whether there were any violations of California law,” The Sacramento Bee reported.
With more bombshells looming — the center’s David Daleiden says he may release another dozen videos — Ms. Harris’ probe provides a much-needed boost to Planned Parenthood’s contention that the only wrongdoing revealed in the videos was committed by the center.
Ms. Richards accused the center Sunday of conducting a “political smear campaign” by “using these very highly edited videos, sensationalized videos, to try to impugn and smear the name of Planned Parenthood.”
“They have zero credibility. They set up a fake company. They apparently used fake government IDs. They’ve faked tax filings and completely falsified what they were about,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.”
She described the center’s investigation as “a three-year, well-funded effort by the most militant wing of the anti-abortion movement in this country to try to entrap doctors.”
The videos have raised questions over whether Planned Parenthood is violating federal law governing fetal-tissue donations from abortions, charges that Ms. Richards has denied repeatedly.
In the videos, two top Planned Parenthood officials, Dr. Deborah Nucatola and Dr. Mary Gatter, are shown discussing how to keep the fetal organs intact and haggling over how much Planned Parenthood would be paid for participating in transfers of fetal tissue for medical research.
Asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, a former top Democratic strategist, why the doctors in the videos are “haggling over the cost,” Ms. Richards insisted, “They’re not.”
“The only people that are haggling in these videos are the undercover folks who are absolutely trying to entrap doctors. And they were completely unsuccessful,” Ms. Richards said.
Critics have called for the doctors featured in the video to be reprimanded, but Ms. Richards said they have been upbraided only for their “tone.”
“They’ve been reprimanded for their tone, absolutely,” Ms. Richards said.
She also said Planned Parenthood affiliates are involved in making fetal tissue donations from abortions in fewer than five states, and insisted that the organization receives no profit “at all” from the transfer to medical research facilities.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate, swiftly condemned Ms. Richards after the interview aired.
“It is illegal, indefensible, and unimaginably immoral to destroy innocent life and harvest human organs, and I’m shocked that an American like Ms. Richards could justify such evil,” Mr. Huckabee said.
One Planned Parenthood supporter, Dr. Jen Gunter, took issue with the center’s use of the phrase “baby parts” to describe fetal organs and tissue, saying in a Thursday article in The New Republic that the medically correct description is “products of conception.”
“These are not ’baby parts.’ Whether a woman has a miscarriage or an abortion, the tissue specimen is called ’products of conception,’” Dr. Gunter said.
The Federalist’s Denise C. McAllister countered Friday that “while she thinks that’s just an accurate medical term, it’s really just dehumanizing babies to prop up the abortion industry.”
The videos have prompted House and Senate committees and eight states to launch probes into whether Planned Parenthood is violating federal and state law on fetal tissue donations, but Ms. Harris’ state investigation is believed to be the first to target the center.
Ms. Harris’ support for Planned Parenthood is no secret: On Wednesday, she criticized an amendment to the federal highway bill submitted by Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, to defund Planned Parenthood, which receives roughly $500 million annually in federal grants and reimbursements.
“The notion that some in DC want to hold CA highway funding hostage in order to defund Planned Parenthood is deeply troubling,” Ms. Harris said on Twitter, adding in a later tweet “that this cynical attempt to block women’s access to health care is even being considered is yet another example of DC’s dysfunction.”
Her investigation prompted critics on social media to accuse her of “shooting the messenger” rather than attempting to determine whether Planned Parenthood has violated California law.
“Selling baby parts? Fine. Undercover videos? Unleash the full power of the state!” Twitchy said in a Friday comment.
The center’s Mr. Daleiden, who headed the investigation, accused Planned Parenthood of “trying to use the power of their political cronies to shut down free speech.”
Mr. Daleiden also has insisted that the center “follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work.”
In a letter Tuesday, the four House Democrats asked Ms. Harris to investigate whether the center violated California law by creating a false company, Biomax Procurement Services, and recording the Planned Parenthood officials without their knowledge.
“This office will also review any materials filed by the Center for Medical Progress with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts to determine whether the organization violated laws including, but not limited to, our registration and reporting requirements,” Ms. Harris said in the letter.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a response to a question at a press conference Wednesday that she will review the videos.
“I’m aware of those matters generally from the media, and from some inquiries that have been made to the Department of Justice, and again at this point we’re going to review all the information and determine what steps, if any, to take at the appropriate time,” Ms. Lynch said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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