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 The non-profit organization said the video had been heavily edited
and recorded by a group that was established to damage its
reputation. It said in a statement the video "falsely portrays
Planned Parenthood's participation in tissue donation programs that
support lifesaving scientific research."
The video, which has gotten widespread exposure on the Internet, was
produced by the California-based Center for Medical Progress, a
self-described organization of citizen journalists dedicated to
monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances.
Reaction to the video from some Republican presidential contenders
was swift. One of them, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, called for
an investigation of Planned Parenthood.
Another, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, called the video "a
disturbing reminder" of what he characterized as "the organization’s
penchant for profiting off the tragedy of a destroyed human life."
The video identified a woman speaking about selling fetus body parts
as Planned Parenthood Federation of America's senior director of
medical services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola. Planned Parenthood confirmed
on Tuesday that Nucatola was in the video.
The Center for Medical Progress said the video showed Nucatola
discussing the sale of body parts from aborted fetuses during lunch
with actors posing as buyers from a biological company.
The group's leader, David Daleiden, said that for about two and a
half years it had been investigating the sale of tissue by Planned
Parenthood. "We very quietly have been on this long-term
investigation," he said.
'DISTURBING' VIDEO
Laurie Zoloth, a professor of medical humanities and bioethics at
Northwestern University, said in an emailed reply to a request for
comment that the film was "being used to inflame people about
abortion, about which there is a substantial consensus, that
abortion should be legal, and rare."
However, Zoloth said it was "terribly disturbing because the
physician seems to be engaged in a transaction in which the goal is
to extract tissue to meet the needs of a company, rather than being
focused on the core purpose of her clinic, which is to provide a
safe medical procedure."
She termed that "an obvious conflict of interest."
Zoloth also pointed to the attitude of the physician in the video,
observing, "The doctor seems extraordinarily cavalier ... Having
this discussion over a meal, while drinking what appears to be wine,
takes this further from the realm of professional clinical medicine
and into the realm of business."
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From another perspective, Zoloth, who is also a professor of
religious studies, noted, "Within many religious traditions, the act
of abortion itself is morally impermissible. The specter of cutting
up and using hearts and lungs and legs from aborted fetuses disturbs
even supporters who are pro-choice. The physician seems in the video
to be unaware of this basic moral problem."
'NO FINANCIAL BENEFIT'
Planned Parenthood, which in addition to abortions provides
healthcare and information regarding birth control and other
reproductive issues, explained in its statement, "Patients sometimes
want to donate tissue to scientific research that can help lead to
medical breakthroughs, such as treatments and cures for serious
diseases.
"At several of our health centers, we help patients who want to
donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like
every other high-quality health care provider does - with full,
appropriate consent from patients and under the highest ethical and
legal standards.
"There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the
patient or for Planned Parenthood."
The organization added that "in some instances" costs such as those
"to transport tissue to leading research centers, were reimbursed,
which it said was "standard across the medical field."
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Additional reporting
by Patrick Enright in Seattle and David Bailey in Minneapolis;
Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Toni Reinhold)
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