“That’s a human being we’re talking about. It doesn’t bring me any comfort to know that one child is torn apart so maybe they can do research on the child’s organs so at some future moment (they can) help a different child,” said an emotional Senator James Lankford (90 percent on the latest Freedom Index, published by New American magazine). He was speaking from the floor of the U.S. Senate in reaction to the ghastly video that caught a high-ranking official with Planned Parenthood speaking nonchalantly about the selling of the body parts of aborted babies.
Senator Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, noted the irony that the Senate was in the midst of discussions on the “humane treatment of animals being put down,” while at the same time, “there were children still being aborted with an instrument reaching into a mother, tearing apart a child.” But in addition to that, the abortionists of Planned Parenthood were careful to protect “certain organs because those organs would be valuable to sell.”
Lankford’s comments were in response to the disclosure of a video, recorded secretly by the pro-life Center for Medical Progress. In the video, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, the senior director of medical services for Planned Parenthood, speaks candidly of the practice of the organization to regularly sell body parts of babies who have been aborted. Actors had posed as potential buyers of aborted babies’ body parts for a human biologics company. (See “Black Market Profiteering: Planned Parenthood Sells Aborted Baby Parts.”)
Over a lunch of salad and wine, Nucatola assured the “buyers” of body parts, “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna to crush that part, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.”In addition to performing abortions herself, Nucatola also trains other abortionists for Planned Parenthood, and she was seen on the video discussing a “huddle” she has with her fellow abortionists each day to see which body parts are in the highest demand. “I’d say a lot of people want liver,” she explained, adding that Planned Parenthood is paid up to $100 for the body parts in higher demand
A former employee of Planned Parenthood, Abby Johnson, has admitted that when she worked there, after the work day was over, she and her colleagues would go out for margaritas and discuss the day. “We would plainly talk about harvesting fetal parts as if we were talking about harvesting a field of corn.”
Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards tried to mitigate the bad publicity created by the video’s release, apologizing for the “tone” of the employee. But she defended the actual practice of selling off body parts from aborted babies while claiming that her organization did not profit from the sales.
“In the video,” Richards said, “one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect our compassion. This is unacceptable and I personally apologize for the staff member’s tone and statements.”
Then Richards attacked the group that did the video, condemning the “secretly-recorded, heavily edited video.” But Richards failed to disclose that the full unedited two-hour long video had also been released.
“I want to be really clear. The allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true.”
David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress (the pro-life group responsible for the video) challenged Richards’ defense. “Without concrete action, Planned Parenthood’s apology is just a cynical and empty excuse that’s three days late. If they are truly sorry, they should immediately hand over all contracts with Stem Express and other fetal harvesting companies to law enforcement.”
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) took issue with Planned Parenthood’s claim, “There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood.” According to CMP, they have obtained an advertisement to Planned Parenthood clinics from Stem Express, LLC, a major purchaser of Planned Parenthood’s aborted fetal tissue. “This flyer advertises four different times the financial benefit that Planned Parenthood clinics can receive from supplying fetal tissue.” CMP cited the ads use of the words, “Financially Profitable,” “Financial Profits,” “financial benefit to your clinic,” and “fiscal growth of your own clinic.” The advertisement also carries an endorsement from Dr. Dorothy Ferguson, medical director for Planned Parenthood.
Eleven of the Republican presidential candidates weighed in with attacks on what Planned Parenthood is doing. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky condemned the practice and vowed to work for the defunding of the organization, while Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said, “This highlights the evil of what they’re doing,” adding that he also wants the group defunded. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin called the practice of selling body parts of human babies “outrageous and disgusting.” Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said the contents of the video were “shocking and gruesome.” Surgeon Ben Carson urged Congress to “eliminate every last dime of Planned Parenthood funding.”
Jindal directed the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct an immediate investigation in his state, while Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar order in Texas.
Interestingly, ABC and CBS ignored the story. NBC allotted 39 seconds in its report, omitting the “damning quotes,” according to research by the Media Research Center.
Perhaps even more amazing was that none of the Democrat candidates, including front-runner Hillary Clinton, even addressed the issue at all.
In addition to action by Congress, state legislatures can be expected to craft their own legislative responses to the sale of baby body parts. In Oklahoma, State Representative Mike Ritze has already announced his intention to carry legislation to ban the sale of aborted baby parts. (Ritze is also the lawmaker who donated the Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds: See “Okla. Gov. Defies State Court Order to Remove 10 Commandments Monument.”)
“It’s not enough for Planned Parenthood to be the leading abortion provider in the U.S.; now we are hearing that they are selling aborted baby parts,” said Ritze, a Republican legislator from Tulsa, who is also a practicing physician. “One of the first defenses posed by supporters of Planned Parenthood was that the practice of selling the organs of these aborted babies was legal. Well, my legislation, once drafted, would make it a felony in Oklahoma to sell aborted baby parts.”
Ritze is chairman of the House Public Health Committee, and a surgeon who has delivered more than 2,000 babies.
In his comments on this whole shocking episode, Catholic League’s Bill Donohue recalled that Albert Speer, a top aide to Adolf Hitler, explained in 1971 how he could participate in the Holocaust, the mass murder of the Jews. “I did not hate them. I was indifferent to them.” Donohue then commented, “Yes, he said, by depersonalizing them, he was able to murder Jews with the same lack of conscience as a sociopath. Or a doctor who works for Planned Parenthood.”
Perhaps if Hitler, Himmler, and Mengele had just a had a nicer “tone.”
Planned Parenthood has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act. Today, Planned Parenthood clinics perform around 300,000 abortions each year. Perhaps the revelations about Planned Parenthood’s sale of preborn baby body parts will move Congress to no longer extract taxpayer dollars to support this pro-abortion organization. Perhaps the American people will demand that Congress take this action. We shall see.
But the current controversy should raise another question in the minds of all Americans: If the gruesome practice of selling the body parts of aborted preborn babies is so repulsive that it must not be tolerated, why is the practice of abortion tolerated? After all, is it somehow less repugnant to kill innocent human life via abortion than it is to harvest body parts from the aborted babies?
Related article:
Black Market Profiteering: Planned Parenthood Sells Aborted Baby Parts
