|
 For years a target of conservatives, Planned Parenthood has come
under increasing scrutiny recently due to secretly recorded videos
about its role in supplying aborted fetal tissue for medical
research.
Anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress on Tuesday released
the third of a series of videos that it says prove Planned
Parenthood staff sell fetal material from abortions for profit.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he was holding
meetings with Senator Rand Paul, a fellow Republican, and others to
"see if we can have a meeting of the minds on the best way to craft
a measure to deal with the horrendous videos that we've all been
viewing."
A vote could come before the Senate enters a five-week summer break,
as early as this week, but Republicans might struggle to get the 60
votes needed for approval.
Paul, who is also a presidential candidate, has introduced
legislation to prohibit federal funds for Planned Parenthood, which
provides screening, contraception services and abortions at clinics
nationally.
It receives about $500 million annually in federal funding, although
that money cannot be used for abortions.
Planned Parenthood says the videos are the latest attack in
a campaign against it and denies any wrongdoing. It says abortions
comprise only 3 percent of its services.
GRAPHIC VIDEO
The latest video shows what appears to be a Planned Parenthood
doctor in a clinic discussing the price of fetal tissue with an
actor pretending to be a potential buyer.
Someone in the video pokes flesh-like material with tweezers in a
glass and the undercover actor points out what he says are tiny
intact kidneys that a medical assistant describes as worthy of "five
stars."
They discuss prices for fetal tissue.
"If we were doing like $50 to $75 per specimen, that'd be like $200
to $300 (total), and we'd be comfortable with that," the actor says.
The woman identified as a doctor replies, "I think a per-item thing
works a little better just because we can see how much we can get
out of it."
[to top of second column] |
Federal law prohibits the trade of fetal tissue for profit but
allows for donations for research or transplantation. Donors can
receive "reasonable payments" for expenses such as transportation,
processing and storage of the material.
"It's outrageous, not to mention wildly unpopular, that politicians
are using this widely discredited attack against Planned Parenthood
to push through legislation rolling back women's access to
healthcare," Dawn Laguens, a Planned Parenthood executive, said in a
statement.
Republicans have been gunning for the group for years, but do not
want to be seen as anti-women with the 2016 presidential election
approaching.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives in 2011 voted to
starve Planned Parenthood of money but the measure was never enacted
into law.
While public opinion has swung clearly in favor of liberals on one
front in the culture wars - gay marriage - Americans remain divided
over abortion.
A total of 44.5 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal
in most or all cases, compared to 42.3 percent who believe it should
be illegal in most or all cases, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online
poll.
Advances in ultrasound technology in recent decades have helped
shore up opposition to abortion, said Lila Rose, a leading
anti-abortion campaigner.
"Having the ultrasound on the fridge, baby pictures from the womb
onward, is extremely compelling for millennials and shows the
humanity of the child from the beginning," she said.
(Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Tom Brown)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
