Justice Department to investigate Planned Parenthood


The Justice Department is opening an investigation into Planned Parenthood's practices and the sale of fetal tissue, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

In the letter from the Justice Department's head of its Office of Legislative Affairs, Planned Parenthood is not named explicitly, but Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd requests the Senate Judiciary Committee turn over any unredacted documents related to the December 2016 "Human Fetal Tissue Research" report. The report claims to outline the organization's practices.

"In this letter … we need to seek access to unredacted copies of any of these records in order to further investigate these matters … At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only," Boyd wrote.

The FBI requested the unredacted documents from Planned Parenthood and similar organizations last month.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's 2016 report claimed executive branch agencies failed to adequately monitor abortion providers. After receiving 20,000 documents voluntarily from Planned Parenthood and similar organizations, Grassley called on the Justice Department to investigate, CNN reported.

The use of human fetal tissue, which is used to study a variety of diseases, is a contentious topic in the political arena. Planned Parenthood became engulfed in the controversy when videos made by an anti-abortion group surfaced in 2015. The videos allegedly showed Planned Parenthood officials negotiating prices for fetal tissues collected from abortions. The sale of fetal organs for profit is a felony.

However, Planned Parenthood said it donates the tissue for scientific research and receives only reimbursement for its expenses, which is legal. It also said the videos are heavily edited and misleading and 13 states that investigated the activist group's claims cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.

Copyright 2017 U.S. News & World Report

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