Earlier this week, you probably heard that anti-abortion activists who were fighting Planned Parenthood in court got indicted. But why was that, and what does it mean? Here’s what you need to know.
In July of 2015, a video supposedly depicting sales of fetal tissue by Planned Parenthood went viral, angering pro-choice and pro-life supporters alike. The video, shot in an undercover ‘sting’ operation by anti-abortion activists from the Center for Medical Progress shows Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services, explaining the uses for tissue donated by patients who have undergone abortion procedures, according to NPR. In light of the scandal, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees began legal proceedings to investigate the claims by the Center for Medical Progress that Planned Parenthood was illegally practicing partial-birth abortions and selling the fetal tissue from the procedures for profit. A criminal investigation then was launched in Houston, Texas, the location of the Planned Parenthood clinic in the video.
On Tuesday a verdict was reached in the investigation and an indictment pursued, but not against Planned Parenthood. According to TIME, it’s the anti-abortion activists from the Center for Medical Progress—David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt—who are facing criminal charges. The two procured fake IDs to use in their undercover sting against Planned Parenthood, which is illegal. In a failed attempt to entice Planned Parenthood officials to illegally sell fetal tissue, Daleiden sent correspondence to the organization, making his own illegal offer to pay up to $1,600 for tissue specimens. Basically, in trying to get Planned Parenthood in trouble, Daleiden committed crimes.
Planned Parenthood never responded to Daleiden’s correspondence, and maintained their initial assurances that fetal tissue donated for research purposes is done so with consent from the patient undergoing the procedure and never for profit. The organization acknowledges that legal reimbursements were accepted to help cover the costs associated with storing and delivering the tissue, but The Washington Post reports that the reimbursements will no longer be accepted.
TIME reports that Daleiden and Merritt have been indicted “on two counts: one second-degree felony charge of tampering with a governmental record, and a misdemeanor charge related to the prohibition of the purchase and sale of human organs”. The felony charge alone leaves them both facing up to 20 years in prison.
CNN reports that the defendants have downplayed the seriousness of the indictments leveled against them, and that Republicans have been citing the claims perpetuated by the videos throughout the 2016 presidential race as cause to defund the organization that makes women’s healthcare so accessible. It’s reassuring to see justice administered for the slander leveled against Planned Parenthood, but at the same time it’s jarring to think that healthcare policy reform is being shaped by political figures valuing fraudulent claims of indicted criminals over the needs of the men and women who rely on the organization’s healthcare services.
We have to wonder: When will the crusade against reproductive healthcare finally end?