Planned Parenthood, a major provider of abortions, is accused of selling the body parts of aborted fetuses, specifically those aborted at 23 weeks. Recent documents made public in California reveal that Planned Parenthood supplied these fetal parts to UC San Diego for research, potentially in exchange for shares in intellectual property resulting from that research. Critics, including David Daleiden from the Center for Medical Progress, argue these practices may be illegal and could include partial-birth abortions. There are also concerns about racial bias in the consent forms provided to women seeking abortions.
The research plan approved by UCSD outlines that tissues from fetuses, ranging from 4 to 23 weeks gestational age, would be collected from women undergoing elective abortions at Planned Parenthood. The plan indicated an intention to collect data from as many as 2,500 patients, with an explicit focus on viable fetuses. Corresponding emails suggest that the procedures used to collect fetal tissues could lead to live births, raising ethical questions about these practices.
Previous documentation revealed that Planned Parenthood entered into a "Biological Materials Transfer Agreement" with UCSD, indicating a financial exchange for fetal and placental tissues, which they deemed proprietary. This relationship is under scrutiny, especially after Senator Marco Rubio called for investigations into federal laws that prohibit selling fetal tissue for profit.
Furthermore, the consent forms for the fetal harvesting program displayed significant disparities in language, with the English forms mentioning the commercial value of the donated fetal tissue while the Spanish translation did not. This indicates a possible targeted discrimination against Spanish-speaking women seeking abortions.
Daleiden states that these actions by Planned Parenthood not only indicate a violation of laws against selling human body parts but also seem to target specific communities unjustly. He argues that this represents a broader pattern of unethical behavior, particularly regarding how fetal remains from viable pregnancies are handled and used in research. The revelations of these practices come at a time of heightened scrutiny of Planned Parenthood, especially following recent honors given to its former leadership.
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