Washington D.C., Feb 12, 2016 / 00:15 am
A new undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress highlights a major North American abortion group and its role in the transfer of baby parts, possibly for money.
National Abortion Federation members are shown in the video agreeing that payment for fetal parts would be a "win-win" for abortion clinics, according to the latest video from the Center for Medical Progress.
"Yeah, it definitely sounds like something some of our members would be really interested in," Sandy Fulkerson, Training and Education Coordinator at the National Abortion Federation, appeared to tell an actor posing as a representative of a fetal tissue procurement company.
Her associate Jennifer Hart, Director of Training and Education at the abortion confederation, then joined the conversation. In the recorded video, she appeared to say that researchers giving money to abortion clinics as a "thank you" for fetal parts would be a "win-win."
The federation representatives were also seen telling the actor about a "group purchasing program" as an approved vendor for its member abortion clinics. They encouraged the actor to set up an exhibit at their next conference to try to attract abortion providers.
When the actor described a situation in which researchers were having a difficult time finding fetal tissue, Fulkerson is seen replying with a laugh: "We know somewhere it's available, right!"
The National Abortion Federation is a professional association of abortion providers. Its members include individuals, private and non-profit abortion clinics, and affiliates of the abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
In recent months, the Center for Medical Progress has released a series of undercover video interviews with Planned Parenthood officials as an exposé of the role the organization and its affiliates played in the transfer of fetal tissue to harvesters for compensation.
Federal law generally prohibits the sale of fetal tissue, but allows for "reasonable" compensation for the donation of tissue from aborted babies for research. This compensation would cover expenses like operating and transportation costs. The compensation cannot be for "valuable consideration."
Planned Parenthood has maintained that its affiliates have acted within the law. The Center for Medical Progress has claimed that the organization broke the law by earning unlawful profits from the transactions.
The latest Center for Medical Progress video explores the support this organization receives from abortion providers and fetal tissue buyers, using the center's previously released footage. The footage includes comments from Deb VanDerhei, National Director of Consortium of Abortion Providers of Planned Parenthood, and Cate Dyer, Founder and CEO of Stem Express.
"I have been talking to the executive director of the National Abortion Federation, we're trying to figure this out as an industry, about how we're going to manage remuneration," VanDerhei is seen saying.
"We're like the total pro-choice advocates, NAF supporters, we sponsor events, we sponsor NAF, we give money to these organizations," Dyer says in the video.
The National Abortion Federation is currently seeking a permanent injunction against the Center for Medical Progress to prevent the release of any videos recorded at its 2014 and 2015 annual meetings.
But one of the investigators defended his work.
"Multiple Planned Parenthood executives and the leadership of StemExpress told our investigators many times that NAF was a key partner for fetal tissue harvesting," David Daleiden, project lead at the Center for Medical Progress, said Feb. 8.
"The fact is, the National Abortion Federation is a key accomplice in Planned Parenthood and StemExpress' scheme to profit off baby body parts, and for this reason they are desperate to suppress the freedom of the citizen press and cover up the evidence of their illicit dealings," he charged.
Last month, a Houston grand jury indicted Daleiden and colleague Sandra Merritt for their role in producing videos released by the Center for Medical Progress videos which show Planned Parenthood officials describing providing fetal body parts in exchange for money. They face a second-degree felony charge of tampering with a governmental record for their alleged use of false identification.
Daleiden also faces a misdemeanor charge of attempting the purchase and sale of human organs – an illegal practice he says abortion clinics have been engaged in.
The Center for Medical Progress has responded to the charges by saying that it "uses the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades in exercising our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and of the press, and follows all applicable laws."
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