Planned Parenthood suing group that released fetal tissue videos

Planned Parenthood announced Thursday that it is planning to sue the Center for Medical Progress.

In the summer of 2015, the group released videos that it said showed Planned Parenthood illegally selling fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood says that while some of its clinics do allow patients to donate fetal tissue for medical research, it does not sell fetal tissue for profit. It calls the videos deceptive and distorted.

In a message to people who subscribe to its newsletter, the organization said quote “the smear campaign continued to push more lies and outrageous accusations for months, triggering investigations in multiple states and renewed efforts to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood health centers.” It goes on to say that none of the investigations have found any wrongdoing on Planned Parenthood’s part.

In the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood makes the following claims against the Center for Medical Progress:

The Center for Medical Progress and its leaders violated the federal RICO Act and federal eavesdropping statute, and engaged in wire fraud, mail fraud, invasion of privacy, illegal recording, and trespassing.
Center for Medical Progress operatives spent nearly three years creating a fake company, creating fake identities (including fake government IDs), obtaining a credit card using a fake name, and engaging in a series of lies to worm their way into private events, to trespass onto private property, and to illegally record conversations without consent.
Center for Medical Progress associates spliced together shards of these illegally obtained lengthy conversations in order to create short videos and spread their false claims that Planned Parenthood has profited from fetal tissue donation.

The note that Planned Parenthood sent out Thursday did not specifically mention the November 27, 2015 shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Ke’Arre Stewart, Jennifer Markovsky and UCCS Police Officer Garrett Swasey died in the attack.

Suspect Robert Dear said in court that he is guilty, calling himself “a warrior for the babies.”

179 felony counts were filed against Dear. He is currently awaiting a mental competency evaluation before his case can proceed.

The Center for Medical Progress released the following statement in response to Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit:

“Planned Parenthood is under investigation by the United States Congress and multiple law enforcement agencies, while their business is drying up and the public is turning against their barbaric abortion for baby parts trade. Now they are filing a frivolous lawsuit in retaliation for CMP’s First Amendment investigative journalism that has done nothing more than tell the truth about Planned Parenthood’s lawless operations. This last-ditch move of desperation is going to expose all of the sordid dealings of the California Planned Parenthood affiliates to the light of the legal system and the public will see them for the corrupt abortion and baby body parts profiteers that they really are.”