Two committees of the Republican-led House of Representatives will look into whether a clip of video shows an official with Planned Parenthood discussing the sale of human organs from aborted fetuses.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, is one of several lawmakers asking both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee to investigate allegations made by an anti-abortion group.
A spokesman for Planned Parenthood said the video is edited out of context and distorts the meaning of what was said. The video was shot more than a year ago by an anti-abortion group that has released several undercover videos aimed at discrediting Planned Parenthood.
Wagner rejected the idea that the comments on the video could have been edited out of context. “This video, spoken in the director of Planned Parenthood for medical services' own words, is the beginning of an investigation. So, I hope that the hearings and the investigation will help us get to the bottom of things.”
Wagner stopped short of joining other lawmakers in calling for a criminal investigation. “I’m not going to put the cart before the horse here. They need to have a full and thorough investigation, up and down.”
A spokesman for Planned Parenthood said the video clip shows the doctor talking about reimbursements for costs related to transporting tissue to research centers, once a patient has decided she wants to donate tissue after an abortion.
Wagner said Congress also needs to look into whether laws governing how fetal tissues are handled are adequate in light of the questions raised by the video and whether research funding by the National Institutes of Health, provides incentives for the use of body parts and tissue from abortions.
