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Republicans Threaten To Defund Planned Parenthood After Third Video Shows Officials Discussing Price Per Item Of Fetal Body Parts

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 07:34 PST, Jul 29, 2015

An anti-abortion group released a series of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetus body parts, and Republicans are outraged and demanding an end to the group’s federal funding.

The latest video from the Center for Medical Progress, released Tuesday, shows a Denver Planned Parenthood official discussing the prices of fetal body parts per item.

The sale of human body parts, including fetal tissue, is illegal in the United States, but the law does allow for non-profit donation if consent is obtained.

Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, has apologized for the callous tone taken by the doctor and insists her organization is free of any wrongdoing, but that’s not good enough for Congressional Republicans.

The new video features an interview with phlebotomist Holly O’Donnell, who draws blood for clinical testing.

“For whatever we could procure, (Planned Parenthood) would get a certain percentage. The main nurse was always trying to make sure we got our specimens. No one else really cared, but the main nurse did because she knew that Planned Parenthood was getting compensated.”

Planned Parenthood officials have decried the heavily-edited videos as an invasion of privacy and said they worry the false information presented in the videos could wind up hurting women.

Congressional Republicans and presidential candidates, however, have begun to cry for a gut of the group’s federal funding.

Vowing to strip the group of its federal funds, Rand Paul and Iowa’s Joni Ernst, along with 24 other Republican senators, have co-sponsored a measure to deny the women’s group any and all of its $500 million of taxpayer money.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be made available to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, or to any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.”

There has been no similar bill from the House, and no Democrat Senators have signed onto the bill, and even some Republicans think it goes too far.

They point to the need of low-income women for non-abortion health services, and worry a completely defunded Planned Parenthood would be unable to help them.

There has also been discussion about diverting Planned Parenthood funding to a different group that can service women’s health needs without violating ethical standards.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson attended a Washington anti-abortion rally, where protesters called for an investigation into Planned Parenthood practices.

Planned Parenthood officials insist the compensation discussed in the video is about reimbursing the organization for their costs in obtaining the fetal tissue, which is legal.

[Photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images]

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