House panel concludes Planned Parenthood must be defunded

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden regarding a U.S. House panel’s final report announced Wednesday that makes numerous criminal and regulatory referrals to federal and state agency and law enforcement officials regarding Planned Parenthood and that recommends that Congress defund the abortion giant in light of its numerous scandals:

“As this report recommends, Congress should make Planned Parenthood ineligible to receive federal tax dollars and instead redirect those funds to support the thousands of better low-cost healthcare options for women and families. The report recognizes the many problems of a scandal-plagued organization with a long track record of abusive and potentially fraudulent billing practices, caught in authenticated undercover videos trafficking aborted babies’ body parts, and that has repeatedly failed to report the sexual abuse of girls. Congress should end taxpayer subsidies of an abortion business that has enjoyed nearly a billion dollars in profits over the last decade while taking more than $4 billion from American taxpayers. It’s time to end this immoral partnership that has been forced upon the American people.” (#DefundPP)

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel held public hearings last year on the law and business of fetal tissue research and trafficking, at which former U.S. Attorneys and a senior federal litigator agreed that they would open a criminal case against tissue procurement businesses based on the information presented. As a result of the panel’s conclusions, it is making numerous criminal and regulatory referrals to federal and state agency and law enforcement officials.

The panel recommended that Congress defund Planned Parenthood and ensure that grants no longer available to it are awarded to healthcare providers that provide comprehensive preventive healthcare for their patients and that do not perform abortions. The panel also recommended that Congress take action to protect women and infants from unscrupulous tissue procurement practices, including the following: