In a move that has provoked outrage among conservatives and pro-life advocates, a Harris County, Texas grand jury has declined to indict Planned Parenthood — and instead charged the two anti-abortion activists who produced undercover videos they allege show the abortion provider illegally selling baby parts.
Could it be Planned Parenthood that’s really behind the charges?
Many pro-life media outlets have long expressed concern about an apparently cozy relationship between Planned Parenthood and the prosecutors’ office. One prosecutor, Lauren Reeder, reportedly serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
The pro-life group the Center for Medical Progress caused a firestorm of controversy after they released undercover footage last year showing what the group claimed was evidence that the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, illegally sold fetal tissue to researchers for a profit.
The grand jury in Houston indicted the center’s founder and another activist on Monday, the first criminal charges against anyone in the anti-abortion group since the videos surfaced last year.
Center for Medical Progress CEO David Daleiden and activist Sandra Merritt each face a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Daleiden also faces a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs.
The center’s footage from the Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston showed people pretending to be from a company called BioMax that procures fetal tissue for research touring the facility. Planned Parenthood has said that the fake company sent an agreement offering to pay the “astronomical amount” of $1,600 for organs from a fetus.
In a statement announcing the indictment, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson did not provide details on the charges, including which records were allegedly tampered with. Her office said it could not disclose more information, and it was unclear when the indictments would be made public.
“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” Anderson, an elected Republican, said in her statement. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us.”
Daleiden issued a statement saying his group “uses the same undercover techniques” as investigative journalists and follows all applicable laws.
“We respect the processes of the Harris County District Attorney, and note that buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well,” he said.
The Texas video was the fifth released by the Center for Medical Progress.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood sued the center in a California federal court, alleging extensive criminal misconduct. The lawsuit says the center’s videos were the result of numerous illegalities, including making recordings without consent, registering false identities with state agencies and violating nondisclosure agreements.
After the lawsuit was filed, Daleiden told The Associated Press he looked forward to confronting Planned Parenthood in court.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
How twisted is the “justice” in this country that the criminals are exonerated and the voices of the victims are indicted? Just when you think you have seen it all.
i guess they think that a reporter from the Morning advocate or one from the Dallas News they would go there and say we come to inverstigate the illegals selling of baby parts from live fetueses they would let them in and telling all what was said in the videos Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat how stupid it the government too even think they could have got these videos under those circumstance Period
It’ll be stupid until we get the Demon-crats out. Don’t forget when you vote.
This is thanks to the most corrupt administration to ever hold office in our country, the Obama regime!
Yes. We have had the most decaying government processes ever in the history of our nation. Yet, we all just sit back and just complain. No wonder if we are headed towards a Civil War!
They charged the right people!!
Seriously, SICK!!!
In your case, I would support retroactive abortion.
I agree with you Joe.
I don’t get this shift in our country. It is anti-christian, anti constitutional Republic, segregation, gun confiscatory, flat pay scale, fully regulatory, complete governmental control. It stinks of communism or Marxism. A fully state controlled country. Counter liberty, freedom, accountability, justice. Rather it is a court control, unconstitutional confiscation, guilt driven society being built.
Don Trump would just add to it
Sorry Bill, but “don trump” has supported PP in the not-so-distant past. Research before you remark.
I think that is what he was saying. The trumpster belongs in the dumpster!
2 Timothy 3New International Version (NIV)
3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
maybe the Texas Bar Association should investigate that prosecutor for an ethics violation??hmmmmm
Just how damn hard is it to see all these corrupt bastards are in bed with each other. Revamp the whole damn thing. Get rid of and prosecute these crooked rat-bastards and get somebody with some backbone and honesty into the positions of power. Enough of this corruption and favor giving. My God people, what does it take to get all of the mindless zombie acting populace off their dead butts and care about something enough to wake up and demand a total change in this broken, corrupt system?!
i have avoided the whole subject for years. I read a little and am sick. I guess i’m just as guilty for not doing anything. We need to go back to first trimester only. Even that is horrible but this 3rd trimester and partial birth is murder. Anyone involved with this should be jailed. God help us
Agreed!
bozzbuck and Bill – I dare you to view the film, “The Silent Screem” and then even think that abortion in the first trimester is not murder. Watch as about six weeks into a pregnancy a solution is induced into the womb and the baby wretches and squirms as the solution burns it up. It is something that I watched years ago and it is still very vivid in my mind today.
Amen!
I agree with totallyfedup. The corruption in this country’s governments, local, state and federal stinks to high heaven. The stench is unbearable we need people with integrity to come back and take over this nations governments positions. This is a country with rules of law and no one should be exempted from prosecution but these journalists who uncovered the heinous felonies committed by Planned Parenthood should not be prosecuted. It is the people who work for Planned Parenthood that should be prosecuted. Remember, they are responsible for the murder of millions of babies..
Yes, and not just the employees, but the Planned Parenthood industry itself. Cut off their source of income – OUR tax dollars. The folks who uncovered & reported this evil scam should be given an award for excellence in journalism!
Is going to be very hard to get rid of Obama and his clan. Get ready for a fight. These are scared tactics, you mess with government and you will pay. We need to be strong and united, otherwise they will step all over us.
You have got that right! We the people have to take a stand..we’re fed up and not going to take it anymore!!
The first we have to get rid Obama’s ,Clintons ,Bushes ,then most of lawyers and judges .
AMEN !
It takes a return to God…we have turned our backs on Him by remaining silent in the midst of such evil. It will take much prayer, fasting, sacrifice, protesting in the streets to turn our country around
I totally agree. Everyone complains, but they do nothing. So much corruption. It will take a lot of us standing together to get rid of the numerous problems facing us. Can’t count on the democrats or republicans to help us. My hope is that Trump cares so much about what is happening to our citizens and country, that he will not let anyone buy him. I know that we can’t go on like it is. Heaven help our children
This has Obamas fingerprints all over it!! PP is just a murdering machine and people making money off of dead baby parts..HOW do they sleep at night!!
Karen,
Your are totally WRONG.
The judge is a man of honor. The criminals that slandered PPH should be found guilty, and PPH should sue them for everything they have or will ever have.
Abortion is a medical procedure, and should be readily available and fully insured.
Abortion is the murder of an unborn child! Our Supreme Court has ashamedly redefined this hideous procedure as “medical.” I say that as a former pro-choice advocate who is now firmly pro-life. I have an adopted son who is thankful he was not aborted like his two siblings were before him. And he now has a son. Life begins at conception according to God’s Word no matter how you try to redefine it. Not admitting that is like the Nazis in WW2 alleging Jews were not human and worthy of life. ALL life is precious and one day you will know the truth. May God have mercy on you and those that share your mindset. If He does, your eyes will be opened, you will see and hear the truth that will set you free.
Good job!
Well said. If anyone has no problem with this so called ” medical procedure”, I dare you to watch one on video and then respond back when you even have the slightest idea of what goes on. No matter how you put it, it’s murder. For the people who use it as a form of birth control, Shame on them! I’d rather have the money going to sterilize the peopleIn an effort to protest the alleged change in policy, 190 Islamic workers staged the walkout that led to their subsequent firing. Their absence was considered a no-call-no-show. The Cargill Plant has a policy that anyone who is fired from their job is unable to reapply for another six months. According to Hussein,
“It’s disappointing. They feel missing their prayer is worse than losing their job. It’s like losing a blessing from God.”
Your sick mister syck hey you match your name lololol .. You should of been aborted !!!!
Wrong!! It is not baby parts! They are taken from aborted fetuses! Don’t you people know the law!! It is perfectly legal!!
AMEN Karen !
FBI doesn’t run stings ,Police don’t run stings , IRS etc. to expose corruption? Usaually go along with Texas but this time they got it all wrong. Cops lie often to get confessions yet dont see them being prosacuted.
James Vallely
The prosecutor was trying to indite PPH, but the grand jury snacked his slimy ass down and went after the lairs and slanders of pph.
I prey for all to be convicted, and PPH to sue them out of existence.
Maybe you need to work on correctly spelling INDICT , LIAR , PRAY , and SLANDERER before you get on a Computer In-Bred Chimp !
You “prey?”
I see you have used the correct verb.
I agree with TotallyFedUp’s comments. It appears that many of our so called Government organizations like the Harris County prosecutors office have become the very face of evil itself. I believe they are often more corrupt than the criminals they are supposed to prosecute.
I don’t really care if the way they went about this was a bit underhanded but….. They did expose what was going on and now, they are being prosecuted for it. Planned Parenthood even agreed to stop selling baby parts. To me that is admission on their part.
No, they exposed nothing. They hacked together a video of bits and pieces to create a lie.
PPH has already sued those involved in California. Hopefully, they will do the same in other states.
PPH provides many services beyond abortion.
Abortion is totally legal. It is in areas lie Texas and other red states that the corrupt governmsnt is obstruction access to those services.
If it is not your body, it is none of your business.
The murder of Jews in WW2 Germany was legal, but that didn’t make it right. The State is not the final arbiter. A few seconds after you die you’ll know that. And Texas is one of the few states that is trying to restore a proper understanding of what life means in a culture that has tried to define what life means according to a corrupt standard. And, yes, what life means is everyone’s business. You don’t get to stipulate that it’s only your business if it relates to your body. For one reason, the child’s life is not just your body, but his or hers, too. We live in a mixed up society that says you can sue another person for injuring or killing your unborn child, but you can’t be held responsible for doing the same. Who speaks for the child? Only you? My adopted son (now an adult) says he is glad he was not aborted like his two previous siblings, but the birth mother chose that avenue. If you don’t want the unborn child, give him/her to someone who does and give them life. However they came to be is not their fault; don’t punish them for what happened either by choice or be force. And don’t think you can get out of it by claiming that life is just a bunch of meaningless cells. Literally, that’s a lie right out of Hell. Trust God, and He’ll provide a way.
Excellent comment, Brian.
You are so right! It is no ones business but the woman’s. I, as a taxpayer, feel I shouldn’t have to pay for the abortion. If the woman and spouse want to pay for it, go for it. Just leave the taxpayers out of it. We have to start making people responsible for their own actions! What’s wrong with that?
I agree with you, Linda. However, it was not done in any kind of illegal manner. Journalists, for years, have been using these kinds of methods & it’s perfectly legal – nothing underhanded or, in reporting, unethical about it. So I’m wondering what grounds PP has to try & “counter-punch” these reporters.
Also, unfortunately, abortion is legal. However, when in 2nd trimester, PP begins to cross a line by “harvesting” these babies in a way that brings a higher profit, regardless of how inhumane it is. In 3rd trimester, in many cases, they will wait until the baby is born before doing their “harvesting”. As someone who has given birth to 2 wonderful daughters, I can tell you for sure that these horrible practices are nothing less than savage murders. So, Grover and Joe, unless you’ve carried a baby to full term, then I assure you, you do not have a clue.
Also, PP does not provide mammograms – a major service for women’s health. And, just because it’s your (or my) body, or because it’s legal, does’t mean that the slaughtering of another human being is okay (regardless of age). This is not a red state/blue state issue so to politicize it is missing the entire point of the issue. It’s a human life issue so, please, try to stay on track.
Probably should have said, ‘It appears that many of our so called Government organizations have become as much a part of the problem as they are part of the solution.
You are right. The “red states” are the main cause of most all of the problems our nation faces today.
We must elect a strong progressive government, so we can take back our nation form the teabags and the oligarchs.
Go away and lay yourself in a 6 foot hole sick syck !!
Everybody just stop and
Read Jeremiah 1:5 (bible) hello?? And respond!
Use court to show more baby cutting scenes etc alone & make jurors puke etc.
& examine files from prior videos & make public.
Ill sign any petition to aid CMP on challenges.
C its payback, prosecutor works for PP.
Dble std.
Fortunately, your baby porn will never get into court.
That would be a good way to get the most extreme anti choice criminals under control. Charge then with child porn.
Nothing “porn” about it, Grover. You need professional help.
baby naked just a worthy try since saving lives are worth a crazy try
This is a real travisty to say the least!!!!!!!! The hole DAM GOVERNMENT are lying to the people , robbing them of the respect that we as citizens deserve, trying to take our rights away!!!! Freedoms that they souldn’t be giving away to illegals, MUSLIMS, and our enemies, what in the world are they thinking?????? This is a fact!!!!!!!!!! And freedom of speech! !!!! Where are our REPRESENTATIVES DOING, probably a 6YEAR VACATION! !!!!, EXCEPT WHEN THEY NEED A RAISE!!!!!! OUR socalled REPRESENTATIVES ARE DOING NOTHING! !!!!!! WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO BE HEALD ACCOUNTABLE FOR AT THE VERRY LEAST for their actions? ?????this is wrong!!!!!!!!! Where is THE DOJ??????????????????OUT TO LUNCH!!!!!!!
No, this is a real victory for the people.
Take your demented religious beliefs and go home.
Your religion, in your home, in your church, but not in the public square, and not in my face.
Screw your face , yeah the one with the big empty blathering hole you sick sycko
You belong in nazi germany not in my country and religion dose belong in the public square and back in our schools, we had the best country in the world till we let our guard down and if you can set and say the things you say, it is time we people of America get our country back from sick perverted evil self gratifying gov. lawyers, and idiots, that out to distroy the best country that has ever been made, by God loving, God fearing, People, and p.p. should be done away with if a woman is stupid enough to want abortion there are many evil doc. willing to do it and pay for it yourself, not with tax payers money.
Our Justice System is broken. As I read history, it has been broken longer than I have been alive. Are we close to the revolution Thomas Jefferson noted?
yes, our justice system is broken.
If it were not, the anti choice crowd would have been brought before the court and would have been put out of business long ago.
Abortion is totally legal.
It is a great failure of the court that the laws that impede or interfere with a woman’s access to abortion have not been struck down before the first one was due to go into effect.
It is because of these failures that we who are pro choice must constantly fight against the anti choice mob.
Yep old empty hole sycko talking about women who have 1 to 6 abortions and kill thier babies because they know we have to pay for it .. Your a real demon lol why do you think you have the word sycko in your worthless name !!!
All you “Pro-Lifers” are the real problem here..Women have a right to their own bodies..not the government or anyone else ..so don’t meddle with women lives and choices.
So let these women pay for their abortions . I don’t want to pay for their sex and killing.
Ditto, Danuta!
Ok Sally these women need to pay for murdering they’re babies themselves ya cold ass hole !!!
Learn basic high school biology. When a sperm and egg meet the zygote has different DNA than the mother. as different as any born child does from their mother. No child’s body belongs to their mother. Another lie Planned Parenthood tells is that unwanted babies exist. The truth is people pay more than a brand new car sells for to be put into a lottery in hopes to become parents through adoption of a baby. Women who are going to die if they give birth can and should go to real doctors who spend time AND have access to hospital emergency rooms. ER is better than that. Also fertilized eggs can be frozen and thawed out and be put in a utterous of a woman who for whatever reason can’t become a mother elsewise. Because of PP many infertile women are not mothers who want them. Fertility treatment also cost teach time more than a brand new car. Also since Carenet can provide counseling and get pre/post care for infants and mothers with out tax dollars and are pro-life. What is so defective about PP using only the support of their base. Oh I forgot they are spoiled rotten and disrespect the voter. We can eliminate the national debt by not funding things so divided as acceptable and paying it off. I’m tired of my tax dollars going for an evil cause. If this causes PP to close and any other business to close then they are being stopped from stealing from the American public. PP are thieves and should have their funding from the government taken away and people who expose them as heros.
What is needed is more and better birth control and better birth control education for teenagers. Why is it so hard to understand that fewer unwanted pregnancies means fewer abortions?
W H
The anti chioicers do not want that either.
They want it to be “sex is only to get the woman pregnant. Any symbolical of it being for pleasure is bad.
The anti chioicers are trying to shut down the long acting contraception program in Colorado. In the 5 years it has been in effect, teen pregnancy is down 40%+, and abortions are down by over 50%.
But the people involved are enjoying sex without the possibility of the punishment of an unwanted pregnancy, so it must be stopped.
Oh no sycko it’s loose women to stupid to remember to take thier pills .. We are a world of diseased whores men and women alike .. I’m sure with your sickness your one to ..
Great!!
Carenet gives conception control education and healthy lifestyle training. PP has too many school administrators in the palm of their hand and won’t let them in to teach the truth nor give counseling to women who had an abortion who regret it. Stop the lying and find out about the facts.
WELL THANK ALL THE LIB/J;S YOU VOTE INTO OFFICE AND GIVE JOBS IN OUR LEGAL SYSTEM TOO..THEY ARE THICK AS THIEVES AND RUN/RAN OUR SYSTEM TO THEIR ADVANTAGE AND NOW THE TAX PAYER HONEST PERSON IS THE CRIMAL THEY ALL W/ GET THERES WHEN WWIII STARTS AND WE CLEAN THIS COUNTRY OUT…
RWH,
What you decribed was is correct, but it is the extreme right wing nuts that it applies to.
If the democrats do not clean house this fall, we will soon have no nation to call America left.
It will be some where in the realm of an oligarchy, a fascist nation and total anarchy.
Awesome maybe you will put yourself in that 6 foot hole sycko
RWH – Please stop shouting. Thanks.
Nail his ass to the wall.
He lied, deceptively edited his video.
Next, PPH should sew all c0oncerned for libel and slander.
Give the slime balls what they deserve.
Talk about slime why does your mouth produce so much slime when you do your blathering ? Huh huh huh sycko
i just read the article, and i am shocked. NOT EVEN A LITTLE. the only statement i do not understand is at the very bottom of the page. what is this tripe about (hate speech) ? what a crock !!! there is NO such thing. wake up everyone !! as far as the lib’s covering for each other, what’s new ?????
I agree with “Totally Fed Up”, why should Planned Parenthood be any different than the rest of the crooks in Washington, or any other state. Somebody is always friends with somebody that can get them off the hook. Even when it comes to babies and their organs, taking them from them in the most disgusting manner, and for that matter the mothers who need the money for whatever just sell their babies parts to get what they need. I can’t wait to see this challenged in court. Hopefully there is still some good left in this world from someone who will follow thru to a conviction and close Planned Parenthood DOWN.
You can lie to yourself all you want it is not a medical procedure that is necessary. It is the killing of an innocent baby. If you don’t want it keep your panties on. Get some morals.
Another example of moral corruption throughout our nation…our culture is becoming amoral–where evil is good and good is evil.
God help us!
Grand juries only hear one side of the story–that of the prosecutor. The prosecutor presented his case behind closed doors. More than likely he was able to get a feel for the mindset of grand jurors before bringing this matter before them.
If there is a jury trial the defense will get to present a case and the proceedings will be public. Maybe its time for the voters to send the Harris County prosecutor back to private service. It sounds like the prosecutors office in Harris County is depraved when they fail to indict a business that is growing wealthy off slaughtering babies and selling their parts yet indict the ones who shines the light on the sordid practice. The identity of the grand jurors should be public record. It would be good to see if any of them has ties to Planned Parenthood.
This is part of the problem in this country. We have given women the right to kill there unborn baby. There have been more babies killed than people living in this country in 1888 . Those abortion providers have got all that innocent blood on there hands and anyone who votes for abortion will have to answer for the muder of those innocent babies. Why are the journalists being put on trial all they did was expose the truth . Wake up America we have been going down the wrong road for a long time .
Hopefully, they will demand a jury trial.
Odds are they won’t be convicted.
I think the people on the jury know what this prosecution is really about.
The Crime Machine Rolls on, bring TRUMP IN TO STOP THIS
If the person(s) who secretly filmed the goings on at Planned Parenthood violated the law, they should be prosecuted. No one should be above the law. If as some say, justice is twisted, then to allow secret filming without consent, which is more than likely a violation of the law should be prosecuted. Wrong is wrong no matter what excuse one tries to apply to justify what you are doing.
Being “cozy” with a prosecutor is a pretty poor excuse.
Nursecrd – this should apply to Obama and Hillary also don’t you think? They should both be prosecuted for treason and selling our country out!
The law should apply to all equally, be they BHO, Hillary or anyone in the GOP who has broken the law. I frankly find applying laws unjustly and unevenly disgusting and that has happened on both sides of the aisle.
all business are fair game for filming business is public arena
When does God give you a soul? The Bible doesn’t tell us. But I don’t believe you are a human being till you get one; it’s what makes us different from all other animals. My personal belief is that you don’t get a soul until you are out in the world. “Life” may begin at conception, but not “human” life. Therefore, l conclude that all the religious fervor surrounding abortion is misplaced. I will be willing to change my view only when someone can convince me that God hands out a soul to a little squiggly piece of matter in a woman’s body, even if that matter shows movements on ultrasounds. No soul no human, ergo no murder !
P.S. When I was young (1950s) only those of the Catholic faith believed that life began at conception, hence abortion was bad; later on even the Baptists jumped on that bandwagon. Nowadays lots of people calling themselves “Christian” think they have God on their side of the argument. I like to ask some of them: when did you get a soul ?
this has the taint of Obamas injustice all over it. if you don’t have a security law to hide criminal conduct as in government. your only option is to twist the law to kill the messengers with one stone you kill two birds, now producing a baton with is being used to thwart and intimidate at the same time. obviously this is a can of worms they don’t want open. I cant think of anything worse to piss off and embolden the peoples anger over this outrage. it will cause the unrelenting ire of the American people. people don’t protest in snow storms to make a statement that their fed up this injustice. The time has come for the slaughter to stop . and these indicted to be freed and compensated for unlawful detainment.
I am a RN, BSN and do not like the taking of life! I have spent a career preventing the death of many before their time! I have held so many at the end of their lives; I have forgotten how many. Those were folks that had a chance to live good, productive lives. Abortion prevents that from becoming the reality of their lives. You who want to call a sperm and an ovum the many different names to avoid calling it a baby must continue to be very creative in what you rename it. The women undergoing abortion get pain medicine: the fetus does not! The videographers/reporters who caught on video the Planned Parenthood Org. looking for a buyer for the body parts need to be cheered, not prosecuted. It is illegal and cannot be explained away as recovering expenses, etc. The PP had already received their fees. Where is Black Lives Matter when it comes to this travesty? Two-thirds of abortions are on Black babies! The PP’s locate inner-city for easy access and “sell” the service to the vulnerable Black women as other than murder. The USA daily average for all abortions is close to 9000. That is then 6000 Black babies per day and it isn’t called genocide?? The POTUS claims he is Black and supports partial-birth abortion?? This whole Harris Co. injustice needs to stop now! The Prosecutor should have recused himself if he serves on a PP Board even if it is somewhere else than TX.This is sick!!
The trial should be thrown out because PP had people who would not be objective on the jury. Violation of a fair trial. Judge taken off case for not catching this. Judge should be punished for letting the inapropreate jury members to stay.
It is the same old story. If you do not like the message, just blame the messenger and all will be ok.
Quotations from the Bible, Romans 1:18 – 21″The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what can be known about God is plain to them, because God made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are with out excuse. For although they knew God, they neither gloried him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking began futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Romans 1:28 – 29A ” Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness,evil, greed, and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice”. Out of room, for full description read Romans 1:16-32
“One prosecutor, Lauren Reeder, reportedly serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.”
If that is true then this prosecutor must be removed from this case immediately since there is a blatant conflict of interest here.