Indicted Anti-Planned Parenthood Activists Turn Themselves In

Women stopped using the most effective types of contraception and more babies were born on the government's tab after Texas cut off funding from Planned Parenthood clinics, a team of Texas researchers said Wednesday. Over 130,000 petition signatures are calling on a Texas court to drop felony and misdemeanor charges facing two pro-life activists who produced last year's undercover videos purporting to expose illegalities in Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue compensation practices. The grand jury not only cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing, but also unexpectedly indicted Daleiden and a colleague, Sandra Merritt. The study underscores the fear that, should Texas follow through on its threat to completely ban Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider in Texas, other providers simply won't be able to pick up the slack. "If politicians were really interested in protecting women's health, they would expand access to care instead of restricting access to a safe and legal procedure", said Laura Goodhue, head of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. "A pretrial diversion is what (Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson) felt was the right thing to do in the case", said Cooper, adding that Merritt hasn't indicated whether she'll accept the offer. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund responded that a grand jury and 12 state investigations have confirmed that Planned Parenthood has done nothing wrong, and never "sold" fetal tissue. Attorneys for Merritt, who turned herself in Wednesday and was freed on $2,000 bond, have not indicated whether the 62-year-old would take the probation offer. About one-third of them were affiliated with Planned Parenthood. But in a twist Daleiden and Merritt likely did not expect, the Harris County grand jury concluded that if any crimes happened regarding what is captured on videotape, it was by The Center for Medical Progress activists. Considering that these women were formerly recipients of contraception, we can safely assume that they were given some level of education about where babies come from, right? She then, however, acknowledges that "per consent" really means a charge per "specimen", but that Planned Parenthood had to word the invoice a certain way due to ethical boundaries. He also said Planned Parenthood hopes other law enforcement agencies pursue charges as well. Supporters of Planned Parenthood in Polk County gathered in front of State Senator Kelly Stargle's office in Lakeland Thursday. Merritt's next court date is set for March 28. Pressing charges against him sends a message to conservatives and Christians: "Sit down and shut up, or this just might happen to you". The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 expressly forbids the sale of such tissue, though it notes that "research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes", including that obtained from "spontaneous or induced" abortions, is legal. Lawyers for the two do not dispute that the pair used false IDs but said they did so for investigative journalism. Daleiden also was indicted on a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs that carries up to a year in prison. Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler pushed back against calls from Democrats to end congressional investigations into abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood. The state health commission said the number of clinics providing women's health services had doubled. - See more at: http://drurymirror.com/2016/02/05/indicted-anti-planned-parenthood-activists-turn-themselves.html#sthash.b8pgNviW.dpuf The Mirror online http://drurymirror.com/2016/02/05/indicted-anti-planned-parenthood-activists-turn-themselves.html