Since July 14, 2015 seven videos have come to light that reveal certain Planned Parenthood executives negotiating and discussing the sale of fetal organs harvested from aborted babies. The first video released showed Deborah Nucatola discussing the procurement and distribution of the fetal organs, and it was the first of 12 videos that the Center for Medical Progress says they will release exposing Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the fetal body parts trade.
The Centre for Medical Progress spent 30 months researching and investigating Planned Parenthood, gathering material and hundreds of hours of video evidence. Since the release of the videos some states have decided to investigate further and re-examine state funding of the abortion organization.
Arkansas became the fifth state to defund Planned Parenthood since the videos have gone viral. Asa Hutchison, the Republican Governor, canceled the Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood.
Governor Gary Herbert (Republican) of Utah has directed Utah Health Department to cease funding Planned Parenthood. When asked about the Planned Parenthood videos Herbert stated, “The allegations against Planned Parenthood are deeply troubling.”
Louisiana, Alabama, and New Hampshire have also decided to take action to defund Planned Parenthood within their respective states, with the legislature in New Hampshire passing a law defunding the abortion giant.
Although several state executives and legislatures have decided to take action to stop the funding of Planned Parenthood, other state officials are currently awaiting results from their investigations. In total, 13 other states are presently investigating the allegations against Planned Parenthood: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In most cases these investigations are seeking to independently confirm the findings exposed by the Center for Medical Progress or to ensure that state or federal laws are not being violated by local Planned Parenthood facilties.
These investigations have already found other incriminating evidence. In Florida, it was found that illegal second trimester abortions have been carried out. Other abortion facilities are also being further looked into in South Carolina.
Despite the fact that certain governors have actively worked to stop funding of Planned Parenthood, others have found that the organization is in compliance to state regulations. Although thirteen states are currently looking into Planned Parenthood, five states have not found the organization to be guilty of any crimes.
Both California and Washington have two sites that operate facilities in which fetal body parts have been sold according to the Center for Medical Progress. California is also the only state to have opened investigations into both Planned Parenthood and the Center for Medical Progress.
Planned Parenthood has also taken legal action against Governer Rick Scott’s health care agency in Florida. Planned Parenthood officials claimed they were being persecutied over what amounts license violations, not criminal actions.
As more videos continue to be released it is expected that Planned Parenthood will come under further investigation. When speaking about the procurement and sale of the organs David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress, said, “Planned Parenthood is a criminal organization from the top down and should be immediately stripped of taxpayer funding and prosecuted for their atrocities against humanity.”
