Contact: Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation, 202-717-7371

NAPA, Calif., April 14, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- A motion to quash David Daleiden's criminal indictment has been filed in Harris County, Texas today. The motion seeks to invalidate the charges filed against Daleiden after he was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly using a fake identification and violating a state statute prohibiting trafficking in fetal tissue.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson came under fire from Life Legal and other pro-life organizations in January after she failed to file charges against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC).

Videos released by David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress clearly show PPGC's director of research, Melissa Farrell, discussing compensation for intact bodies and parts of aborted babies. In one video, Farrell says, "We had two levels of invoicing for [fetal specimens]. We had it worded as 'per consent,'" which she defined as "paying for the specimen itself." PPGC takes in over $24 million in annual revenue.

"District Attorneys have a great deal of latitude in how they conduct grand jury investigations and can readily obtain indictments in cases they want to prosecute," notes Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director Alexandra Snyder. "It is famously said that prosecutors have so much influence over grand juries that they can get them to 'indict a ham sandwich,' yet DA Anderson refused to connect the dots between paying for an aborted specimen and fetal tissue trafficking. We are hopeful that the judge reviewing today's motion will recognize the absurdity of charging David for the crime committed by Planned Parenthood."

This is not the first time DA Anderson has elected not to prosecute abortion providers, even in the face of documented evidence of criminal activity.

In 2013, Anderson's grand jury investigation into late-term abortionist Douglas Karpen—who has been called the Gosnell of Houston—failed to return a single indictment, even though Karpen's former employees stated that babies were born alive and then murdered in his clinic on a daily basis. In 2014, Karpen's attorney donated over $25,000 to Anderson's campaign.

Life Legal continues to coordinate Daleiden's defense, including preparing for possible charges in California after Attorney General Kamala Harris raided David's apartment and seized his personal property. Life Legal also heads up Daleiden's litigation team in three separate lawsuits filed against him by StemExpress, the National Abortion Federation, and Planned Parenthood—including PPGC.

About Life Legal Defense Foundation
Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit www.lldf.org.