From Press Release
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is making inquiries to Planned Parenthood and the Justice Department following media reports of a video describing in detail Planned Parenthood’s role in the harvesting of fetal tissue.
The video shows Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director for Medical Services, Deborah Nucatola, describing the organization’s role in the procurement of fetal tissue.
Federal funding accounts for more than 40 percent of Planned Parenthood’s annual revenue. In addition, federal law prohibits the buying or selling of human body parts, the use of fetal human tissue for research without the informed consent of the woman having the abortion, and the alteration of abortion methods and procedures solely in order to obtain fetal tissue.
In his initial inquiry to Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, Grassley began asking questions about the organization’s facilitation of the activities described in the video.
In a separate letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Grassley noted that the video shows Nucatola discussing the statutory interpretation and intent of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. Grassley wrote that this discussion raises questions about whether abortion providers are acting in full compliance with federal law. He asked Lynch to provide the Judiciary Committee with a description of the actions taken by the Department of Justice to ensure compliance with the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
A copy of the letter to Planned Parenthood can be found here. A copy of the letter to the Department of Justice can be found here.
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