In a major win for those who oppose the marketing of aborted fetal body parts, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals not only debunked claims that videos of abortion industry workers bartering over baby parts were “heavily edited,” but scolded Planned Parenthood for its rhetoric and medical practices.
The Daily Caller is reporting on the decision, handed down on January 17, which lifted an injunction forbidding Texas from stripping Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funds. The case arose as a result of the release of undercover videos taken by a pro-life group, Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The videos showed Planned Parenthood employees blatantly violating the law in the acquisition of body parts obtained from aborted babies. As a result of these violations, the state of Texas determined that Planned Parenthood violated the Medicaid provider agreement and terminated it.
“Planned Parenthood’s reprehensible conduct, captured in undercover videos, proves that it is not a ‘qualified’ provider under the Medicaid Act, so we are confident we will ultimately prevail,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement after Thursday’s ruling.
Judge Edith Jones delivered the opinion which, among other things, accuses Planned Parenthood of breaking federal law banning partial birth abortions after a video captured an executive discussing how doctors at one facility partially evacuate an infant in order to acquire certain body parts. This is clearly in violation of the law banning partial birth abortion.
Even though Planned Parenthood denies that it intentionally alters abortion procedures to acquire body parts, it offered no response in its briefings to the discussion captured on video.
“The plaintiffs’ briefing with regard to the substance of the discussions contained in the videos is curiously silent,” the decision reads.
Also dismissed was Planned Parenthood’s claim that the CMP videos were “deceptively edited.”
“The record reflects that [the Texas Office of Inspector General] had submitted a report from a forensic firm concluding that the video was authentic and not deceptively edited,” a footnote in the decision reads. “And [Planned Parenthood] did not identify any particular omission or addition in the video footage.”
The CMP’s David Daleiden responded to the ruling by reminding that the video camera doesn’t lie.
“CMP’s undercover video series caught Planned Parenthood’s top leaders openly admitting to selling baby body parts for profit in violation of federal law,” Daleiden said in a statement.
By debunking Planned Parenthood’s claim that the videos were altered, the decision handed a crucial vindication to CMP’s citizen journalism work.
He added: “The Court ruled that Texas may strip Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer subsidies, finding that Planned Parenthood uses criminal partial-birth abortions to sell baby parts. Now, it is time for the U.S. Department of Justice to do its job and hold Planned Parenthood accountable to the law.”
Abortion industry practices of acquiring aborted fetal body parts are currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.
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