Center for Medical Progress

Who is profiting from the exploitation of fetal remains? The disposition of fetal remains and body parts is already strictly regulated by federal law. Violators are subject to criminal penalties, and these penalties should be strictly enforced. But by holding congressional hearings to investigate alleged trafficking in fetal tissue, anti-abortion members of Congress have used fetal remains to their own advantage.

These politicians should respect the consensus achieved by the scientists, ethicists and elected officials who wrote the laws. They should insist that the laws be enforced against all parties who use fetal tissue illegally, including anti-abortion zealots. Most important, congressional representatives should themselves refrain from exploiting fetal remains for political profit.

Last week, the House Commerce Committee held hearings to investigate whether fetal tissue is being bought and sold in violation of federal law. This follows a report earlier on ABC's television news magazine "20/20," alleging that unscrupulous doctors and clinics are selling fetal body parts for profit. The story was macabre and shocking. Who but the most depraved criminal would scheme to benefit from the sale of human body parts? Yet while it may be illegal to profit financially from the sale of fetal tissue, nothing prevents the anti-abortion lobby from exploiting fetal remains for political profit.

From an LA Times article on March 13, 2000: Issue of Fetal Remains Shouldn't Be Demagogued

The article continues:

A corrupt pathologist-entrepreneur told "20/20's" undercover reporter that his company will sell fetal tissue and organs to researchers for prices as high as the market will bear. When "20/20" showed the footage to commentators, everyone from Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt to ethicist Arthur Caplan agreed that these actions were reprehensible and should be punished. Meanwhile, the legal means for prosecution are already on the books. In fact, laws against fetal tissue research and trafficking in fetal body parts are tougher and more effective today than at any point in this country's history. The sale of fetal tissue is prohibited under the 1993 NIH Revitalization Act and the National Organ Transplant Act. The proper response to violations is to arrest and prosecute the offenders.

By agreeing to hold hearings, members of the Commerce Committee allowed themselves to be used as pawns. They have relied on information compiled by a renegade anti-abortion organization, Life Dynamics, based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1992 by Mark Crutcher, Life Dynamics trains anti-abortion activists and devises new strategies to turn the public against abortion.

Life Dynamics' latest tactic is outlined in its pamphlet, "Baby Parts Marketing." This sensationalist tract describes a litany of fetuses allegedly dissected alive and sold in pieces to a secret research industry.

Wow, that sounds really familiar, doesn't it??? What is the date on this again? MARCH 2000!

Testimony concerning this was provided by Lawrence D. Alberty Jr., who later admitted to "20/20" that Life Dynamics had paid him $10,000 to work undercover in one of the clinics. The Times reported that Alberty admitted he had fabricated claims he made on a video for Life Dynamics. Yet those incriminating details are no longer relevant, because Life Dynamics got what it wanted: congressional hearings.

The only reason to hold hearings is to provide anti-abortion activists a platform for their lurid propaganda. Anti-abortion members of Congress are only too eager to go along with this strategy. They denied a Democratic petition to have closed-door hearings because they wanted to ensure that the public would hear the morbid claims compiled by anti-abortion activists. Clearly, anti-abortion congressmen are using their political power to exploit dead fetuses. Other anti-abortion activists have not limited themselves to rhetorical posturing.

I left out the parts about these psychotics actually presenting people with fetal remains. Somethings you have to see to believe.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Ummm, what did you expect PP to say about it?

Did ACORN ever admit they did anything wrong?

Has Hillary ever admit to anything either even thought she's been caught in lie after lie? What about Obama?

Well PP is certainly more believable and has more credibility than some random pro-life organization that has roots in another pro-life organization that attempts to do similar video sting campaigns that try to show PP doing and admitting to things that they don't do.

If you are going to go that route, please remember PP has its roots in white supremacy and eugenics...

From the same 1999/2000 period ... this time from CANADA (where the same people try to do the same things and have been doing so for a LONG TIME):

Where do these allegations of "baby parts for sale" come from? Without exception, the lurid stories being spread by the mainstream media are based on a single source: an August 30, 1999 article in the right-wing Alberta Report magazine. The Alberta Report in turn got its information almost entirely from Life Dynamics Inc. (LDI) of Texas, an extremist anti-abortion organization that specializes in using deceit and harassment to discredit and vilify abortion providers. It is chilling to think that mainstream media would present without question information from a group as sinister as Life Dynamics.

... and who was the recognized mastermind of Life Dynamics again?

So who is Life Dynamics and what do they do? Mark Crutcher is LDI's executive director, and his goal is to make abortion all but unavailable, whether legal or not. Crutcher is a known associate of anti-abortion leaders who advocate the murder of abortion providers.

MURDER??? Wait a minute ... aren't these folks supposed to be pro-LIFE??? We've already seen that they aren't.

One more blast from the past:

The only allegation currently under investigation by a U.S. Congressional committee is that two biomedical companies, acting as third parties in the collection of fetal tissue, are charging inflated handling fees to research institutions -- more than what is needed to cover costs. Let there be no doubt as to the unanimous pro-choice position on this -- if any type of illegal activity is happening -- and nothing has been proved as yet -- let's root it out and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law. [Ed note: In August 2001, these two companies and a Kansas abortion clinic were cleared of any wrongdoing, after an FBI investigation concluded no illegal activities had occurred].

originally posted by: Gryphon66

Yep, that must be why the Right Wing is so hotly trying to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment

(Sorry for the off-topic post, although this does go to collusion between right-wing power brokers and the US Congress.)

No, State's Rights and enhanced federalism are why we want to repeal the 17th Amendment.

Nice attempt to deflect from the leftist/statist power brokers and Congress, by the way.

BUT ... all that's in the past and we're talking about Mark Crutchner not David Daladen right?

Well, not exactly ...

From Christian Times article: Meet the Filmmaker Exposing Planned Parenthood

INTERVIEWER: You aren’t the first person to raise questions about alleged profits being made off of fetal tissue. Back in 2000, there were high-profile reports and a congressional hearing on fetal tissue donations. Did those earlier reports influence your work?

DAVID DALIEDEN: That was something that surprised me—that no one had looked into this issue for 15 years at this point. The last time this issue was in the public discourse was back in 2000, all because of the very seminal investigation and exposé done by Mark Crutcher (of the pro-life group Life Dynamics). I wanted to do something that would go beyond the work Mark had done. In Mark’s report, there was not a lot of focus on the supplier—on the people who were actually terminating the fetuses and using the abortions to get high quality body parts. That wasn’t really covered in 2000.

From the Washington (Moonie) Times, no less ... David Daleiden: Why the Catholic man behind the Planned Parenthood videos went undercover

In 2013, at the age of 24, Mr. Daleiden founded the CMP to investigate in-depth bioethical issues. “Human Capital” is its first project.

Part of the preparation for the project included studying Life Dynamics’ research from 15 years ago. That organization, founded in Texas in 1992 by Mark Crutcher, had paid an employee of a fetal tissue-collection organization to provide evidence of illegal practices at a Planned Parenthood facility in Overland Park, Kan.

a reply to: Teikiatsu

Nope, you want to put the power back in the hands of politicians at the State level, pure and simple.

There are three planned parenthood sites in two states that facilitate fetal donations. Those two state are California and Washington.

Arkansas, Lousianna, New Hamsphire, Utah, and Alabama have cut funding.

Florida, Georgia. Indiana, Massachusetts, South Dakota have finished their investigations and only Florida had problems, none of which is related to fetal donations.

Though Florida’s investigation found Planned Parenthood was generally compliant, state inspectors did accuse three clinics of preforming second-trimester abortions — which they maintain begins at 12 weeks — without proper licenses. However, Planned Parenthood, along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, dispute the state’s definition of second trimester. “We measure [trimesters] according to accepted medical guidelines and in accordance with Florida regulations as up to 13 weeks and six days from a woman’s last menstrual cycle,” Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates told the Wall Street Journal.

www.buzzfeed.com...

Other states are still investigating, including the main one, California who will not only investigate the accusations against planned parenthood but also weather or not CMP has broken any laws.

Not sure about Washington.

I tried my best to see where these investigations stood at the present time and present them in some kind of orderly fashion. Might have missed some though.

But well, it's ironic that the states that are defunding planned parenthood seem, by my research to have had nothing to do with the donations whatsoever.

oh ya, and stemexpress have cut ties with planned parenthood for some reason, not sure what that means, if anything. maybe they got tires of having their website hacked or something since it's been off line most of today, and I believe part of yesterday.

Seems to me the reaction from Stem Express is knee-jerk overreaction, I think they feel like, based on the appearance of their firm in fraudster videos, that they have some "exposure." If it were proven in an investigation that Stem Express employees have acted as alleged, that might well be true.

If.

Might.

Further information on David Daleiden's past, particularly his time at Live Action: Articles by David Daleiden

Oh, and what does About Live Action tell us?

HISTORY:
Live Action was founded in 2003 by then fifteen year-old Lila Rose. In 2008 Live Action was legally formed as a non-partisan, non-profit organization.

Yeah.

More on the Congressional Connection to these fraudsters:

Is GOP Leadership Coordinating Harassment of Planned Parenthood With Anti-Choice Radicals?

Several GOP members of the House Energy and Commerce and House Judiciary committees—all of whom are also members of the House “Pro-life” Caucus and all of whom expressed outrage at the video—immediately announced hearings and investigations. Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), for example, said: “The chilling video released today is yet another tragic and heart-breaking reminder of Planned Parenthood’s legendary disregard for the sanctity of innocent human life. The trafficking of the little hearts, livers and heads of these precious unborn children resulted in significant financial benefit for Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country.”

Apparently, Franks was not “chilled” enough by the video to do anything about it when he first saw it at least a month earlier than it was released to the public, as he later admitted to Roll Call. At least one other lawmaker is on record as having seen the video well before its release. Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) also admitted to Roll Call having seen the video at least a month earlier. When pressed by Roll Call as to why he did nothing about these explosive charges in the intervening time, Murphy cut off the reporter, saying: “This interview never happened.”

The Center for Medical Progress is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

About Us - The Center for Medical Progress website

To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

IRS - 501(c)(3) Exemption Requirements

DALEIDEN: I want the whole world, but especially the American people, to know the whole story of what Planned Parenthood is doing to the babies that they abort. I hope that elected officials listen to the public outcry for Planned Parenthood to be held accountable to the laws they break during their barbaric abortion practice and baby-parts trade. There should be an immediate moratorium on taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood while elected officials determine the full extent of Planned Parenthood’s atrocities against humanity.

Read more at: www.nationalreview.com...

National Review article

On Monday, Mr. Daleiden issued a statement in response: “The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work.”

But the description of the center on its website has changed. Originally it was a nonprofit “dedicated to informing and educating both the lay public and the scientific community about the latest advances in regenerative medicine, cell-based therapies, and related disciplines.” Recently it became “a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances.”

New York Times article

a reply to: Gryphon66

Your posts are greatly appreciated!


What should be troubling to this nation is the conspiracy of reactionary politicians and big money religious to give power to a movement that relies on deception and rhetoric to convince gullible people to be followers.

Conservative Catholic philanthropist funds attacks on Obama campaign and Planned Parenthood
And this is from 2008!

The “Pro-Life” Movement’s Hot Rhetoric and All-Out Lies

This tactic is a mainstay of the anti-choice movement: it shows one face to the initiated, and another to the public

This tactic of persuasion using deception to get their way belongs to the world of the sociopath. A sociopath can easily persuade an audience that is exploitable and given to making poor choices, an audience willing to take in false sound bites as facts. Propaganda and brainwashing.

a reply to: desert

I've been trying to decide how to approach the issue of "follow the money" in regard to the "Center for Medical Progress."

Daleiden has stated that between 12-15 contributors gave $120,000 over the last several years to fund his con game.

Of course, the Roman Catholic Church is well-known for its political activism in the "pro life" arena.

Further, (opinion statement ahead) as with most "pro-life" organizations, the Church has been influential in propagating these lies, frauds, cons and incitements to violence and actual violence, including the bombings of abortion clinics, and the murder of doctors associated with "aborts."

The "Center for Medical Progress" is directly associated with many of these groups that have been PROVEN to be engaged and supportive of illegal acts.

But it's not just the Catholics that are "on board" with all the support for criminals and fraudsters ... virtually every online "Christian" group, magazine, activists, have come out in support, not only of Daleiden, but of all of the crooks and felons in these fringe movements.

We should all remember that these efforts, particularly the politicization and exploitation of fetal tissue research, are not new but have been around since the late 1990s, and have resulted in previous "investigations" before Congress, States, etc. ALL OF WHICH have shown that there is nothing illegal or even unethical going on with Planned Parenthood, but have demonstrated CLEARLY that these fringe activists are willing to do whatever, however, whenever no matter how illegal, no matter who gets hurt or killed ... all in the name of Life.

Try pointing any of these facts out to a zealot, however, and you'll soon see that the dishonesty is not limited to Daleiden and his cohorts.

a reply to: desert

ya know what's scarey...
the book that he's talking about, they now have a training seminar based on it that they offer high schools and univerisities....

jfaweb.org...

Following the money ...

Farris Wilks: The Pro-Life Fracking Billionaire Bankrolling "Crisis Pregnancy Centers"

$725,000 to Life Dynamics. Its motto is "Pro-Life: without compromise, without exception, without apology." Based in Texas, Life Dynamics assists lawyers and anti-abortion groups around the country in legally challenging regional reproductive health clinics that provide abortion services. Life Dynamics also sends undercover operatives to spy on abortion providers. More curiously, Life Dynamics operates a direct mail program, through which it "alerts doctors and medical students to the stigma that attaches to abortionists."

Now ... Life Dynamics ... where have we heard that name before?

(Hint: False testimony to Congress in 1999.)

I like this one.....

The Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day Church has an impressively detailed website, so you can discern a fair amount about Wilks' guiding philosophies without much difficulty. By way of example, the Assembly of Yahweh Church helpfully provides its online readership with this helpful guide to appropriate women's behavior. Among the Wilks church's prescribed directives to female members of the flock: be ruled by men, don't work outside of the house, and do not speak during religious services.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Gryphon66


so basically if they don't like abortion, they should griping at the men for making the women unhappy by having sex with their obedient little servant wives and leave the danged women out of the conversation anyways!!! see guys....it's your fault that women don't want their babies!!!!

a reply to: dawnstar

The connections between the radical Christian Right and these known fraudsters, con men, terrorists and murderers are well-established.

Just remember and keep saying to yourself: but they're pro-LIFE.

a reply to: Gryphon66

well if the wife is to be ruled by her husband, where do they get off telling a wife that she should keep her legs crossed if she doesn't want a kid? shouldn't they be telling her husband that if his wife doesn't want a kid he should keep his pant on and zipper zipped!!!

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: Gryphon66

well if the wife is to be ruled by her husband, where do they get off telling a wife that she should keep her legs crossed if she doesn't want a kid? shouldn't they be telling her husband that if his wife doesn't want a kid he should keep his pant on and zipper zipped!!!

That's not the way it works in that paradigm. Women are property.

Do you have any info on possible links between CMP and the Roman Catholic Church, funding-wise? I think it's important to establish a link between these fraudsters and the organizations/individuals bankrolling them.

a reply to: Gryphon66
I spend some time looking but failed miserably really,.....
have any idea as to what search terms would produce that kind of financial information?

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: Gryphon66
I spend some time looking but failed miserably really,.....
have any idea as to what search terms would produce that kind of financial information?

I've been looking as well. I've posted a few links above.

The fact is, of course, the wealthy often don't want us to know who they're buying, er, supporting.