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 In an 11-page letter to Republican and Democratic congressional
leaders, the reproductive healthcare group's president, Cecile
Richards, detailed the findings of an analysis conducted by research
firm Fusion GPS and commissioned by Planned Parenthood.
In recent weeks, the Center for Medical Progress has released eight
videos showing Planned Parenthood technicians gathering fetal tissue
from abortions.
The anti-abortion group has said the videos showed Planned
Parenthood officials discussing the illegal sale of aborted fetal
tissue. Planned Parenthood has said it has done nothing wrong.
Richards' letter comes as four congressional committees are
conducting investigations into her organization. When Congress
returns from summer recess on Sept. 8, efforts to halt federal funds
for the organization could be part of budget negotiations.
The letter said there were multiple instances of what it called
deliberately deceptive edits, inaccurate transcripts and missing
footage.
In the accompanying 10-page report by Fusion GPS, video forensic
experts tallied 42 instances of unrelated questions and answers
being spliced together in the first five videos, creating the
appearance of seamless conversations. The edits "substantively and
significantly" altered the meaning of the dialogue, the report said.
It was not immediately known how much Planned Parenthood paid Fusion
GPS for its research.
Analysts found transcripts had also been altered, at times changing
questions by actors "to make it seem less like they are baiting
Planned Parenthood staff into making unethical statements," the
report said.
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In what the Center for Medical Progress called full-length footage,
analysts found large portions had been removed, including
approximately 30 minutes' worth of video filmed in each of two
clinics, the report said.
"Any time someone has made undisclosed changes to an audio or video
file, that renders the file unreliable," lead investigator and
former Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Glenn Simpson said
during a media conference call.
In response, the Center for Medical Progress issued a statement
calling the new analysis a "desperate, 11th-hour attempt" to
discredit the videos, saying the edits were made to remove bathroom
breaks and downtime between meetings.
The Center for Medical Progress has indicated that it will release
more videos in coming weeks.
(Reporting by Megan Cassella; Editing by Richard Cowan and Lisa Von
Ahn)
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