The head of a human tissue company that used to contract with Planned Parenthood clinics said sometimes the group’s staffers were on two payrolls.
In a ninth video released by the Center for Medical Progress, StemExpress founder Cate Dyer tells undercover anti-abortion activists that at times, there were Planned Parenthood staffers who were also paid by another human tissue company called Advanced Bioscience Resources for acting in an advisory role.
“Some of their staff, not that I know so much on the Planned Parenthood side … there are some staff in the past that have been on the payroll with ABR,” Dyer says.
The series of videos have raised questions about whether Planned Parenthood has profited from providing aborted fetal tissue to StemExpress, ABR and other human tissue companies. The women’s health and abortion provider has said it is compensated only for the overhead costs of obtaining the tissue, which would be legal.
The latest sting video also features Katharine Sheehan, medical director Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest, and ABR procurement manager Perrin Larton, who discusses the process of obtaining aborted fetal tissue.
The fetuses are typically “ripped up” by the time the abortion procedure is finished, but occasionally they’re still intact, especially if the woman has had multiple vaginal deliveries in the past, Perrin says. Some similar statements in past footage released by the Center for Medical Progress has fueled accusations by Republicans and abortion opponents that Planned Parenthood doctors sometimes perform partial-birth abortions, which are illegal under federal law.
“I literally have had women come in … the fetus was already in the vaginal canal whenever we put her the stirrups it just fell out…if they’ve had a lot of births, that’s kind of what happens,” Perrin says. “But most of the time it is not intact.”
In a response to the latest footage, Planned Parenthood Vice President of Communications Eric Ferrero noted that the parts featuring Sheehan were heavily edited. And he pointed to other sections in which Dyer and Larton appear to confirm Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t trying to make money off the fetal tissue, although he didn’t address the allegation that some of its employees were also paid by biomedical companies.
“The video released today is not about Planned Parenthood,” Ferrero said. “Staff from two independent health care firms that work with medical providers and research institutions appear to discuss their policies and practices. Multiple times in this video, staff from independent health care firms appear to say that Planned Parenthood is not interested in any financial gain and adheres to ethical standards.”
Planned Parenthood has strongly defended itself, saying it has done nothing illegal and that only a handful of its hundreds of clinics have participated in fetal tissue donations. Fetal tissue is used by medical researchers to develop vaccines and other treatments and cures.
