David Daleiden’s indictment doesn’t move the needle for abortion foes, who still believe he exposed the country’s largest abortion provider for breaking the law in serious ways.
A Houston-area grand jury that was investigating whether Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast acted illegally through collecting and supplying aborted fetal tissue instead indicted Daleiden, the man who went undercover to investigate the women’s health and abortion provider.
Daleiden is now facing a felony charge of tampering with a government record, presumably for using a fake ID to gain entrance to Planned Parenthood facilities, and a misdemeanor charge related to purchasing human organs, although Daleiden has said no real transactions ever occurred.
House Democrats responded to the indictment by pushing for an end to a select panel House Republicans created to investigate fetal tissue practices, prompted by the videos.
“Their investigation needlessly endangers the privacy and safety of patients, healthcare providers and scientists seeking cures that will help all Americans,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who is the top Democrat on the panel. “House Republicans should admit when they’re wrong.”
But the panel will continue with its work, according to Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
“The lack of respect for infant lives on display in the videos is just as abhorrent today as it was yesterday,” Blackburn said, adding that the committee will continue to “gather information and get the facts about medical practices of abortion service providers and the business practices of the procurement organizations who sell baby body parts.‎”
Announced late Monday by the Harris County District Attorney’s office, the indictment also prompted a stream of support for Daleiden from anti-abortion activists, who view him as a hero of sorts for obtaining the footage that kept Planned Parenthood under fire for months and prompted an effort by Congress to block federal funds to the group.
“It’s horrifying that the Houston grand jury failed to indict the organization who was willing to sell baby body parts yet somehow manages to indict the journalist who caught them in the act,” said Kristen Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.
“We protest the grand jury findings as being of a suspicious nature given the clear and convincing evidence that has surrounded Planned Parenthood and its practices for numerous years,” said American Life League President Judie Brown. “The wrong organization went on trial and the wrong people have been found worthy of an indictment.”
Daleiden’s series of videos, released last summer, feature interviews with Planned Parenthood officials discussing getting compensated by human tissue companies for fetuses and conducting abortions in such a way that they leave certain organs intact.
If Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson prosecutes Daleiden based on the grand jury’s findings, it would add to legal battles faced by the 26-year-old abortion opponent, who is also being sued by Planned Parenthood’s California affiliates.
Daleiden has said he respects the processes of the district attorney but also defended himself, saying he used “the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades.”
“Buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well,” Daleiden said. “Planned Parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their leadership about fetal organ sales captured on video for all the world to see.”
The indictment doesn’t prove that Daleiden broke any laws. It just means the grand jury found enough evidence for him to be prosecuted. The grand jury also cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.
But abortion foes are arguing that because an employee in the district attorney’s office is on Planned Parenthood’s board, the grand jury’s findings were unfairly biased toward Planned Parenthood and against Daleiden.
It is unacceptable that the office did not recuse itself to eliminate any and all questions of potential bias,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “A special prosecutor should be appointed now to review this entire investigation.”
