From opening statement by Charles LiMandri, attorney for Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress. 

Who is David Daleiden? He’s a caring and compassionate person whose compassion is to stop cruelty toward all human life. He worked for Live Action and other organizations forapproximately five years, 2008 through 2013, at which time he was investigating the cruelty involved in the trafficking of human fetal tissue and organs, such as hearts and livers and other organs.

He then started the Center for Medical Progress in 2013 and began what we call the Human Capital Project to further this investigation, and the purpose was to try to stop the unlawful practices in organizations profiting from the sale of fetal tissue, because our laws recognize that we don’t want to create a market where people can purchase human organs, be it from adults or infants or from fetuses. And he considered it a civic duty to pursue this investigation based on what he had already learned.

In the course of the Human Capital Project investigation, even prior to the taking of the first undercover videos that are at issue in this case, which was in April 2014, Mr. Daleiden learned through, again, that investigation of the following criminal actions on the part of the plaintiffs, which are factually documented in the videos we expect that the evidence will show that you’ll see in this case. And those include basically three major types of criminal activity.

One, again, the selling of human fetal tissue and organs for a profit. You heard Ms. Trotter talk about its tissue donation program. The donation part applied to the women who agreed to donate the fetal tissue, but not to Planned Parenthood or what we call these TPOs, third-party organizations, who purchased it from Planned Parenthood.

The second major type of activity that Mr. Daleiden was investigating involved alternative abortion procedures, so they could obtain more marketable fetal tissue and organs, including in some cases the performance of illegal partial-birth abortions. Because if you want to have —

THE COURT: Excuse me, Mr. LiMandri.

  1. TROTTER: I’m sorry, Your Honor. Objection, 403.
  2. LiMANDRI: Goes to motive and purpose, Your Honor.

 

THE COURT: So, ladies and gentlemen, a couple of things. First, remember that what lawyers say is not evidence. Second, as I told you at the outset of this case, this case is not about the truth of the — of any of the abortion-related issues that Mr. LiMandri was just describing.

However, it is relevant for your purposes, and you will hear Mr. Daleiden testify concerning the reasons that he did what he did in this case. So I’m sure Mr. LiMandri is almost done with this particular set of descriptions. And I’ll allow him to continue.

LiMANDRI: Thank you, Your Honor. I appreciate that. I am almost done.

There was just one final category, which is a major part of the purpose of the investigation that was done by Mr. Daleiden and the other defendants that motivated their actions in this case and their strategies, which as the Court, Judge Orrick, instructed you is a part of the consideration.

And that third major area he investigated involving wrongful acts by the plaintiffs is whether or not fetuses were actually born alive, after which time their tissue and organs were harvested…..

Access the full October 8th transcript here.