MEP asks EU Commission to stop funding Planned Parenthood

A member of the European Parliament has submitted written questions to the European Commission in the wake of the release of videos that depict Planned Parenthood officials involved in the possible illegal sale of baby parts from abortions.

MEP Miroslav Mikolášik asked the commission if it is aware of the videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress, and if it intends to condemn Planned Parenthood’s actions and suspend funding until U.S. authorities complete a thorough investigation.

He has also asked if the Commission intends to prevent Planned Parenthood from joining the European Commission’s lawsuit against the “One of Us” European Citizen Initiative, a grassroots effort to end the commission’s funding of embryonic stem cell research.

“No one should be forced to fund a wealthy corporation caught on camera negotiating the sale of baby parts,” said ADF International Director of EU Advocacy Sophia Kuby, who is based in Brussels.

“The money of the people of Europe should not be used for such atrocities. We hope the commission will respond to the MEP’s questions by saying that it will act immediately to suspend funding for Planned Parenthood in light of these developments”, she added.

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED

The questions submitted to the European Commission in accordance with Rule 130 of Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament ask if the commission is “aware of this practice and the video evidence produced by the Centre for Medical Progress, which points to the direct involvement of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in illegal trafficking of human body parts”.

Planned Parenthood clinic

Miroslav Mikolášik wonders if the commission will “condemn this practice and suspend all direct or indirect funding of Planned Parenthood facilities, projects or programmes until such time as US authorities have carried out a thorough investigation of the matter.”

The European Commission typically has up to six weeks to provide answers to questions that MEPs submit.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD SOLD BABY ORGANS

The Center for Medical Progress has released its sixth video shining a light on Planned Parenthood's aborted baby parts compensation practices. The video claims that Planned Parenthood and its partner, Stem Express, are pressuring women to have abortions and are harvesting babies' body parts without the consent of their mothers.

The video, which was released by CMP Wednesday morning, is the continuation of an interview from the third web video released by CMP in July featuring Holly O'Donnell, an ex-procurement technician for StemExpress.

O'Donnell, who previously said she unknowingly took the job as a fetal tissue procurement officer when she was hired as a phlebotomist, detailed the unethical procurement processes and techniques used by StemExpress agents.

Holly O'Donnell has revealed Planned Parenthood procedures

O'Donnell explained that each day, she and other procurement officers were responsible for going to their assigned Planned Parenthood clinics, tracking the appointments that those clinics had that day and obtaining the types of tissue and organs clients were looking for.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD PLEADS NO GUILTY

Despite the onslaught of videos from CMP, Planned Parenthood has maintained that the nation's largest abortion provider has not violated any laws through its tissue compensation practices.

Planned Parenthood has also maintained that the videos are doctored and are nothing more than a smear campaign by pro-life activists, despite the fact that CMP has subsequently released hours of footage revealing the abortion provider's actions.

As conservatives have called for the federal government to prohibit federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood, at least three states have taken steps to defund Planned Parenthood affiliates within their states. Meanwhile, 12 states have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood's organ harvesting practices.