100 Years: Abortion Industry 'Hardened, Callous, Money-Focused'

In a heartwrenching op-ed, the head of a congressional committee investigating fetal harvesting says women can be further traumatized by harvesters taking advantage of the situation to make a profit.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., commemorated the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, by sharing her thoughts with The Stream's #100forLife effort. 

She says women distraught over having an abortion at Planned Parenthood can be approached by a tissue harvester from a for-profit company. 

"Imagine that this tissue harvester, who has access to your confidential patient information, will get a bonus for each organ and does not work for your doctor or even the medical facility," she said. "Imagine further that they ask you to donate human body parts with the assurance that they have found cures for diseases like cancer and Parkinson's with similar tissue."

Planned Parenthood was the subject of undercover videos that showed, among other things, abortionists and lab technicians sifting through trays of aborted baby body parts, discussing how much the organs cost.

"When undercover investigative journalists discovered that a market had been created to sell baby body parts for a profit, they revealed what pro-lifers have known for many years — the hardened, callous, money-focused face of the abortion industry in America," Blackburn said.

Blackburn's committee, the Select Panel on Infant Lives, is investigating whether any laws were broken by the fetal harvesting industry. The panel is concentrating on federal law 42 USC § 289g-2, which allows for the transfer of fetal tissue but strictly prohibits profit.

"Even though Planned Parenthood has dipped into their vast pockets to pay for a slick PR campaign during this year of their 100th anniversary to deny they made any profit, our committee has repeatedly found cases where payments for tissue exceeded any reasonable cost," she said.

"Moreover, anyone who sells baby body parts for a profit should be barred from receiving federal funds for any purpose," she added. "We do not give federal funds to those who violate our criminal statutes."

Planned Parenthood receives approximately $500 million taxpayer funds a year. It is unlawful for taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortions through programs like Medicaid.

The abortion provider claims they do not use federal funds for that purpose.

Related: Pro-Lifers Mark 100 Year Anniversary of Planned Parenthood