Planned Parenthood Will Stop Aborted Baby Parts Payments; Critic Calls It 'Admission of Guilt'
Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced a change in their fetal tissue donation policy, in a move that one pro-life critic calls "an admission of guilt."
America's largest abortion provider released a statement Tuesday noting that their clinics will no longer accept reimbursements for fetal tissue donations.
"Reimbursement for reasonable expenses related to tissue donation is fully legal, appropriate, and common among health care providers," read the statement in part.
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"Planned Parenthood affiliates in two states help their patients who wish to participate in fetal tissue research."
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, stated that the decision came in response to the widely disseminated allegations leveled by the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress that the women's health organization was illegally profiting from human tissue sales.
"This removes beyond the shadow of a doubt the ludicrous idea that Planned Parenthood has any financial interest in fetal tissue donation — and shows the real agenda behind these attacks," said Richards.
"When the attacks in Washington and in states continue, as we unfortunately expect they will, let it be clear once and for all that that they have nothing to do with concern over fetal tissue donation and everything to do with banning abortion in the U.S."
Over the past few months, the California-based CMP has released a series of undercover videos reportedly showing Planned Parenthood executives engaged in illegal activities.
Although Planned Parenthood supporters have argued that the videos were heavily edited, the CMP's efforts have generated much activity by Congress.
The Republican-dominated legislative branch has held hearings and debated multiple pieces of legislation geared at removing the $500 million of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
CMP head David Daleiden released a statement Tuesday calling Planned Parenthood's policy change a "PR stunt" and "an admission of guilt."
"If the money Planned Parenthood has been receiving for baby body parts were truly legitimate 'reimbursement,' why cancel it?" stated Daleiden.
"This proves what CMP has been saying all along — Planned Parenthood incurs no actual costs, and the payments for harvested fetal parts have always been an extra profit margin."
Daleiden also expressed skepticism at the intentions of Planned Parenthood, saying that the announcement "tells us nothing" about "the exact model" for how the new policy work operate.
"This only raises more serious questions about what Planned Parenthood leadership has been allowing its clinics to do with money and baby parts," continued Daleiden.
"[It also] intensifies the need for Congress to pursue full auditing and oversight of Planned Parenthood's unaccountable criminal enterprise of baby parts trafficking."
