The following was issued on Sept. 2 by Life Legal Defense Foundation.

Life Legal Defense Foundation Attorney Catherine Short is battling in court for the right of Center for Medical Progress (CMP) to communicate with legislative bodies holding official proceedings and with states attorneys general concerning what undercover investigators learned at National Abortion Federation (NAF) conferences.

Attorney Short has brought a motion on behalf of CMP to clarify that the injunction obtained by the National Abortion Federation (NAF), and which prevents CMP from sharing with any third party what undercover investigators learned at NAF conferences, cannot apply to bar responding to congressional subpoenas or inquiries from state Attorneys General.

Today, the court gave leave to the Attorneys General of Alabama, Arizona, Michigan and Oklahoma to join the fight to clarify and limit the injunction by having their own motion heard in the case.  

A hearing to decide the motion is scheduled later this month.  Life Legal will continue to aggressively defend CMP against the NAF lawsuit and other similar meritless lawsuits designed to silence CMP’s right to speak and deprive the public of its right to hear the truth.

CMP released its 9th video today focused on long-time PP partner, tissue procurement company, Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR). Per PP abortionist, Kathleen Sheehan, ABR does “large government collections,” and the relationship between PP and ABR goes back decades.

The video contains more evidence of born-alive infant cases; an ABR Procurement Manager says in some instances infants “fell out” of women during the abortion procedure and taken for butchering by the PP middlemen.

The video also features new footage of former ABR employee, and current Stem Express CEO, Cate Dyer recounting that some PP clinic staff were also paid consultants of ABR.

The case against PP and its ‘tissue procurement’ partners is stronger than ever after PP made three key admissions in a responsive letter to members of congress.

1.    PP admits that multiple clinics receive cash payments of $45 to $60 “per tissue specimen” from various Tissue Procurement Organizations (TPOs)

Federal law does not authorize a “per specimen” payment schema; it authorizes only reasonable reimbursement of actual costs if PP itself “transport[s], implant[s], process[es], preserv[es], [performs] quality control [on], or stor[es] of human fetal tissue.”  42 U.S.C. section 289 g-2.

CMP’s evidence indicates TPO partners, not PP perform the listed functions, and that these payments are not “reasonable” reimbursements but profit.

The new and 9th CMP video also raises questions about whether kick-backs between tissue procurement partners and PP are being used to skirt the federal ban on receiving valuable consideration for fetal tissue.
2.    PP admits that abortion procedure “adjustments to facilitate fetal tissue donations” may occur at Planned Parenthood facilities.”

PP’s excuse for apparently violating 42 U.S.C. 289 g-1 – which requires certification that the abortion procedure is not altered to obtain usable tissue– is that it interprets the provision to apply only when the federal funding of research is involved.

However, PP’s medical consent forms promise the abortion procedure will not be altered in order to obtain tissue.
3.    The highest levels of the PP knew of and approved of the “affiliate” clinics’ practices.
LLDF will continue to fight for CMP’s right to hand over evidence to legislators and law enforcement officials.