The FBI has reportedly asked the Senate for unredacted documents obtained from abortion providers, which may signal an investigation into Planned Parenthood and other parties involved in the market for fetal tissue from abortions.
The document request occurred recently and was directed to the Senate Judiciary Committee, The Hill reported. The chairman of that committee, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, referred Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers for criminal investigation in December, following the release of the committee’s lengthy probe into the market for fetal tissue.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said she welcomes the potential investigation into Planned Parenthood’s business practices.
“Not content with their status as the nation’s largest abortion business, evidence shows Planned Parenthood sought to squeeze every last opportunity for cash from the sale of hearts, brains, lungs and livers of the unborn children whose lives they end,” Ms. Dannenfelser said in a statement. “Planned Parenthood and its associates are terrified of having their sordid business model exposed. We commend the Trump administration for holding them accountable and urge Congress to follow through on the promise to redirect the half-billion dollars in taxpayer funding the abortion giant receives each year.”
It is against the law to sell fetal tissue for profit. Abortion providers are allowed to price fetal tissue for research in order to recover the costs of obtaining it.
Dana Singiser, vice president of government affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called accusations of wrongdoing “baseless.”
“Planned Parenthood strongly disagrees with the recommendations of the Senate Republican staff to refer this matter to the Justice Department, especially in light of the fact that investigations by three other Congressional committees, and investigations in 13 states including a Grand Jury in Texas, have all shown that Planned Parenthood did nothing wrong,” Ms. Singiser told The Hill.
The Senate probe was conducted in the wake of the Center for Medical Progress undercover video investigation that purported to show top-ranking officials discussing the sale of fetal body parts from abortions.
The investigation found that some fetal tissue procurement firms sold fetal body parts at a price that exceeded the cost of storage.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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