Early this week a video exposure of Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue donation system was produced and released by the Center for Medical Progress, a new anti-abortion group. The video focuses on a Planned Parenthood worker, who documents the sale of fetal tissue for research. This video has been commented on nationally, from presidential hopefuls to the Speaker of the House.
The video contains a woman, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, who is interviewed by individuals from the Center for Medical Progress posing as people interested in the fetal tissue market. She describes the excision of the fetus from the uterus. She is extremely blunt and does not mince words, facilitating a wide range of didactic descriptions that convey a clear desensitization towards things pertaining to the abortion process. She describes vividly her careful attempts to not "crush above" and "crush below" specific body parts, later describing how to "evacuate an intact calvarium [fetus head]."
She then speaks about the economic benefits of the tissue donations. She says, "I think for [branches of Planned Parenthood] at the end of the day, they're a non-profit, they just don't want to – they want to break even. And if they can do a little better than break even, and do so in a way that seems reasonable, they are happy to do that." But immediately following this, she says that, "really, their bottom line is, they want to break even. Every penny they save is just pennies they give to another patient. To provide a service the patient wouldn't get," demonstrating a clear passion for helping individuals in need.
This woman says many equally contradicting remarks, but no matter how passionate she may be, she has indubitably represented Planned Parenthood in a pejorative light. In response, Planned Parenthood has released the following video:
The president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards firmly states, "I want to be really clear, the allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true," hereby renouncing Dr. Nucatola.
However, much to Richards' chagrin, this video did not end controversy. The Center for Medical Progress, the creators of the original video, gained a lot of media coverage. John Boehner, the speaker of the Republican House, stated in a press conference, "when an organization monetizes an unborn child [...] we must all act." In a later press release, Ted Cruz says, "there is no place for taxpayer funding of organizations that profit from taking away innocent life, much less profiting off of the bodies of the lives they have stolen." However, his reference to tax funding causes us to consider Cruz's role (as well as other Republicans' roles) as a politician.
This recent controversy could potentially lead to the defunding of Planned Parenthood nationally. Though this sounds like a dramatic claim, the Governor of Wisconsin has already defunded Planned Parenthood. Though Planned Parenthood affiliates, specifically Dr. Nucatola, have made clear mistakes, the defunding of Planned Parenthood would mean the elimination of accessible birth control, contraception, female and male sexually transmitted infection check ups, as well as cancer screenings and prenatal checkups. The consideration of defunding Planned Parenthood and leaving thousands of women resourceless is abhorrent.
Opponents of Planned Parenthood are conveniently overlooking the fact that the organization has been providing essential services to its clients besides abortions. For example, the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was one of the most active proponents of the birth control pill that has eliminated the need for abortions for countless individuals. The organization has been a resource to both men and women since 1916, and I strongly urge anti-abortionists to remember what they are really fighting against. With the allegations made by the Center for Medical Progress, and the clear refutations made by the Planned Parenthood president, I still have a lot of reasonable doubt about the actual dealings of Planned Parenthood, specifically relating to fetal tissue donations. However, people should look at more than this one incident, and consider the undeniable good behind this organization.
The transcript of the dialogue with Dr. Nucatola can be found here: http://www.centerformedicalprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/PPFAtranscript072514_final.pdf
