Washington, D.C. - Today, 18 members of Congress
released a letter
urging the U.S. Department of Justice to follow up with an investigation of the December 2016 criminal referrals regarding Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) and the illegal trade in fetal tissue from aborted children.
The letter was released by Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and co-signed by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who chaired the House Select Committee on Infant Lives tasked with investigating abortion providers and entities that trade in fetal tissue. The December 2016 Final Report cited invoices and other evidence obtained in a year-long inquiry, and concluded that "Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast may have violated both Texas law and existing U.S. law."
Congressman Johnson, in the letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, noted that the 2016 Final Report was issued during the presidential transition period when DOJ personnel were in flux, and now deserves "swift action. " Johnson's press release said, "The backroom deals being made to transfer and sell the body parts of unborn babies are not only shocking, but illegal. We must do everything in our power to stop this horrifying practice and protect the sanctity of human life."
Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following on the release of the letter, "The evidence uncovered seems to provide plenty of reason to investigate Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast for the illegal sale of the broken bodies of aborted babies. The letter to Attorney General Sessions indicates it was copied to the State Attorney General offices in Louisiana and Texas. It is critical for all state and federal agencies to ensure that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is subject to grand jury scrutiny based on the invoices from PPGC to the University of Texas, Galveston."
Dorinda C. Bordlee, senior counsel of Bioethics Defense Fund, said her organization drafts model legislation to prohibit this shocking practice in state law, and noted that several abortion businesses are currently challenging a 2016 Louisiana passed fetal trafficking ban in federal court. Bordlee said, "It is both unethical and illegal for any abortion provider to induce still undecided pregnant women to sign consent forms to allow their aborted child's tissue to be used for research. This amounts to coercive science-shaming that exploits women and unborn children."
