"In their response to Congress, Planned Parenthood continues to dodge, deny and deflect, refusing to address the real, substantive concerns about their unethical and potentially illegal corporate practices that are now publicly documented," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest

Contact: Kristi Hamrick, 202-289-1478, press@aul.org

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- Faced with Congressional and state investigations in crimes possibly committed by Planned Parenthood abortionists for their inhumane harvesting and sale of aborted baby hearts, lungs, and livers, and other body parts, Senior Counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) Roger Evans authored an initial reply to the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee trying to downplay the horrific facts that arose from the release of undercover videos from the Center for Medical Progress.  Today, Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of Americans United for Life sent a letter to Chairman Fred Upton, and additional House and Senate leadership, detailing three troubling areas in that response, to further the work of Congressional leadership as well as to the various committees engaged in investigating video of Planned Parenthood doctors discussing how they crush unborn infants to gather more parts for sale. The letter systematically addressed Evans' claims, debunking the claims made to the Committee and documenting the legal challenges currently facing Planned Parenthood.

"On the videos, America clearly sees abortionists admitting to altering how they perform abortions to get more infant parts for sale, describing crushing the unborn to avoid valuable organs or considering 'less crunchy' means to a horrific end," noted AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. "This is not a theoretical conversation. The videos speak for themselves."

"It's time for a thorough and honest investigation of the legal issues that come from possible use of illegal partial birth abortion techniques or possible illegal profits from trafficking in the human remains of unborn victims of abortion. Given the fact that Planned Parenthood receives almost half of its billion-dollar budget from taxpayers, Congressional and state officials must get to the bottom of this trafficking in the broken bodies of unborn victims of abortion."

AUL's legal analysis of the Planned Parenthood response documents issues related to the following three areas and states that their letter:

• Elevates concern that Planned Parenthood is altering its abortion techniques to gain baby organs it can sell.
   
• Confirms the necessity of investigating whether Planned Parenthood is profiting from the sale of baby body parts while manipulating events to create a perception of no gain.
   
• Suggests that the unethical and illegal activity appears to go well beyond an individual and may be organization-wide.

"Planned Parenthood's behavior and motives are key to evaluating possible criminal acts in this case," noted Dr. Yoest. For example, Planned Parenthood's Senior Medical Director described how she, in fact, treats abortions differently based on whether or not she intends to harvest a baby's body parts. When asked "how much of a difference can that actually make if you know kind of what's expected or what [body parts] we need?" Dr. Nucatola replied: "It makes a huge difference."

AUL has previously noted that the videos raise many on-going questions:

• How much money is being exchanged for baby hearts, livers, lungs, and other body parts?
   
• Are interstate commerce laws being violated in the transportation of baby parts?
   
• Are mothers fully informed, and do they give legal consent to the sale of their babies' hearts, livers, and lungs?
   
• Is the illegal Partial Birth Abortion procedure used in an effort to gain valuable later-term, more fully formed heads and hearts?
   
• Is the Born Alive Infant Protection Act violated in in an effort to gain valuable later-term, more fully formed heads and hearts?
   
• Are women encouraged to endure dangerous late-term abortion procedures by abortionists who know that body parts from more developed infants sell for more money?
   
• Are federal funds used to subsidize any of the facilities or procedures used in "harvesting" fetal tissue after the abortion was performed?

AUL's analysis notes that concerns about Planned Parenthood's behavior are not from the videos alone. In an additional letter to the E&C Committee, "several former Planned Parenthood officers and employers 'personally attest' that Planned Parenthood 'has operated as a law unto itself, gladly accepting tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer support while using the rubric of 'reproductive rights' to claim an exemption from the normal standards of accountability that every other recipient of public funds is expected to meet.'"

Dr. Yoest observed that despite the serious legal issues brought to light by the videos, some politicians are ignoring Planned Parenthood's alleged behavior to ask for investigation of those concerned about the harvesting and trafficking of infant body parts. She said: "Planned Parenthood's enablers, among them this week certain House Democrats, are pursuing the tired and misleading strategy of attacking the messenger rather than responding to the merits of the very serious legal and ethical issues raised by the conduct of the organization's abortionists.  Denial and obfuscation will not advance the public policy issues raised by the work of the Center for Medical Progress which must be addressed immediately and head-on."

To read AUL's analysis of claims made by Planned Parenthood to the E&C Committee, click here.

For more in the legal questions surrounding Planned Parenthood harvesting and sale of infant body parts, click here.

Americans United for Life (AUL) is the legal architect of the pro-life movement. We are accumulating victories, building momentum, and advancing a culture of life in America. Our vision is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. The first national pro-life organization in America, AUL has been committed to defending human life since 1971.