The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up an appeal by the group that secretly recorded Planned Parenthood clinic staffers apparently negotiating the sale of fetal body parts.
David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, had asked the justices to step in and reject Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s civil lawsuit, saying it was an attempt to silence his First Amendment rights, and thus ran afoul of a California law.
The justices declined the case without comment.
Mr. Daleiden and his coworkers published videos in 2015 detailing a series of Planned Parenthood and abortion industry officials discussing the sale and profits from fetal tissue.
Some GOP-led states moved to pull funding from Planned Parenthood in the wake of the videos. But Mr. Daleiden has faced criminal charges and civil lawsuits over his group’s decision to film and release the undercover videos.
His legal team said it wouldn’t be derailed by the Supreme Court’s refusal Monday.
“Despite repeated attempts at intimidation and mounting legal costs, we will continue to fight alongside of Mr. Daleiden, even as Planned Parenthood attempts to prevent him from disseminating truthful evidences of their egregious wrongdoing,” said Peter Breen, vice president of the Thomas More Society, which is representing Mr. Daleiden.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.