Liberty Counsel previously filed a request for an en banc (full court) review and presented argument that the appeals court should reverse the lower court's ruling, order a new trial and strike the punitive damages award.

Merritt and David Daleiden, founder of Center for Medical Progress, released videos in 2015 exposing Planned Parenthood's illegal trade in aborted baby body parts, after a 30-month undercover operation. The videos showed Planned Parenthood executives haggling over prices of aborted baby body parts and discussing how they change abortion procedures to obtain more intact organs.

In 2019, the case was heard by San Francisco's U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick III, who is the founder of the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center that houses the Planned Parenthood of Northern California facility in its complex. In 2017, the defense requested that Orrick recuse himself from the case and he refused. Judge Orrick severely restricted the evidence, and at the end, gave instructions to the jury on how they should rule on critical issues. The jury decided in favor of the abortion giant on each count, including RICO, and awarded more than $2 million in damages. The court subsequently awarded Planned Parenthood nearly $14 million in attorney's fees and costs, for a total judgment of over $16 million.

Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Sandra Merritt only revealed the truth of what horrors are happening to precious unborn children. She deserves a fair trial and Liberty Counsel will continue to seek justice for Sandra and for these innocent babies."

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SOURCE Liberty Counsel

CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org