The House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to launch a probe into Planned Parenthood abortion clinics and the tissue procurement company StemExpress. The request comes after new evidence suggests the two colluded to violate federal law.
In their letter to HHS Centralized Case Management Operations Director Jocelyn Samuels, the panel exposed contracts between Planned Parenthood and StemExpress that show the procurement business paying Planned Parenthood for fetal tissue and then reselling it to researchers.
The Select Panel’s investigation also shows that StemExpress violated federal regulations governing Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) by using the appearance of compliance with the regulations, while fraudulently using invalid consent forms, and misleading scientific researchers to believe it had a valid IRB approval. Misleading scientific researchers violates one of the core values of the IRB system, enacted by Congress to engender integrity in scientific medical research.
Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said in a statement that their report also proves Planned Parenthood is taking advantage of young women for profit and unlawfully sharing their patient information with StemExpress.
“The contract changes the way both entities view the young woman: her baby is now a profit-center," she said. "This betrayal of a young woman’s trust should disgust us all. It takes financial advantage, obtains consent through coercion, and deceives the woman, all in violation of federal privacy laws.”
The House investigative panel was created in response to the Center for Medical Progress’ shocking three-year undercover project that captured Planned Parenthood employees laughing and eating lunch while negotiating the sale of aborted baby parts. The filmmakers behind the videos have been the target of liberal lawmakers, yet the House Investigative Panel is determined to keep the focus on the real culprits.
The “regime of cooperation” between Planned Parenthood and fetal procurement businesses, which included the unlawful handling of patients' medical charts, is dangerous, illegal and immoral.
What more proof does HHS need?