David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, two anti-abortion activists, were charged with 15 felonies by California prosecutors on Tuesday. The pair created a fake bio-research company, and used those credentials to go undercover and secretly filmed Planned Parenthood. According to the Associated Press, from October 2013 to July 2015, the pair secretly filmed 14 people without consent or permission in three California counties—Los Angeles, San Francisco and El Dorado.
The videos that surfaced after these secret recordings led to public distrust and outrage towards Planned Parenthood. According to the Associated Press, the videos included conversations between Planned Parenthood staffers and Daleiden and Merritt that suggested the company provided blood, tissue and other materials for medical research.
However, the company stood by their values and weathered the storm. According to The Slot, this week Daleiden and Merritt both recieved one felony count for each person they filmed without permission, and another for criminal conspiracy.
On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood released a statement in response to the charges, The Slot reports. “As we have said from the beginning, and as more than a dozen different state investigations have made clear: Planned Parenthood has done nothing wrong, and the only people who broke the law are those behind the fraudulent tapes,” said the organization. “The California Attorney General filing criminal charges sends a clear message that you cannot target women and you cannot target health care providers without consequences.” They added, “We look forward to justice being served.”
Although Planned Parenthood has continued to recieve threats and backlash, their fierce loyalty to serve the healthcare needs of all women is what continues to set them apart from everyone else.
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