'Planned Parenthood Made Fatal Flaw': Shocking Trial Pits Abortion Giant Against Pro-Life Investigators
Pro-life advocates are on trial in San Francisco, CA, for exposing Planned Parenthood with undercover videos. One video shows one of the abortion provider's officials laughing about making money selling the body parts of aborted babies.
Planned Parenthood is suing The Center for Medical Progress over its undercover investigation. The country's largest abortion provider had an advantage in the trial until their attorneys made a major blunder. The video evidence allegedly shows Planned Parenthood officials discussing illegal practices regarding fetal tissue. The abortion giant has pushed the judge to keep jurors from seeing those videos.
Buying and selling human fetal tissue is illegal in the United States. Federal regulations also prohibit anyone from altering the timing or method of an abortion for the sole purpose of later using the tissue in research.
CMP investigators recorded Planned Parenthood officials talking about methods of obtaining organs from aborted babies.
"So, if we alter our process and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers... it's all just a matter of line items," said one official on a video, identified as Melissa Farrell, the director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
A part of one video shows another official, identified as Dr. Mary Gatter, the president of the Medical Directors' Council for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, laughing about how much money they can make.
"We agreed that $100 would keep you happy?" an unidentified female voice asks off-camera. Gatter agrees during the question and then responds, "I want a Lamborghini, no," she says and then laughs. "I said I want a Lamborghini."
"Don't we all, right?" an unidentified male voice agrees. "Exactly," Gatter responds.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is a part of CMP's defense legal team.
ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow says Planned Parenthood fought hard to keep the videos out of the courtroom, even convincing the judge to keep the jury from seeing them – until their attorneys made a 'fatal flaw.'
"Ultimately, Planned Parenthood made the fatal flaw of bringing up one of the defendants here to testify," Sekulow told CBN News. "She testified very clearly about why she did what she did going undercover to expose potential criminal activity by Planned Parenthood."
That opened the door for the videos to be shown in court.
"Everything changed when the jurors saw those videos and then had to hear, not just from the defendants in the case who did the undercover investigative work, but they heard from the abortionists themselves about joking about making money or getting a Lamborghini from selling babies' body parts after the babies had been aborted," Sekulow said.
He emphasized the trial is also about free speech and protecting those who speak out on behalf of the unborn.
"We also have to fight for pro-life speech, and this is one of those issues where you were fighting for just pro-life speech, for the ability to get out good investigative journalism, which is done all the time, without issue, unless of course it's the abortion industry who you are trying to investigate, and suddenly the courts start treating them differently," Sekulow said.
Sekulow explained that if the jury rules against the defendants, they could have to pay financial penalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The trial is expected to continue into November, possibly wrapping up around Thanksgiving.