# Planned Parenthood sues anti-abortion group behind secret videos **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167 "2016-01-14T21:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/61 "2016-01-26T03:11:19Z")
Houston elected an openly gay mayor, so no “shock” needed. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/62 "2016-01-26T04:09:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Houston elected an openly gay mayor, so no “shock” needed. Yep, there are more liberal minded folks in Texas than most people realize. Most of them are concentrated in the urban areas, which should also not really be a shock. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/63 "2016-01-26T16:01:19Z")
[Carly Fiorina and GOP frozen in denial over hoax video indictments.](http://www.salon.com/2016/01/26/carly_fiorina_and_gop_frozen_in_denial_over_hoax_video_indictments_planned_parenthood_has_been_trafficking_in_body_parts/) > [@](#): > > “I think it’s pretty clear that we now know what goes on in Planned Parenthood clinics,” Carly Fiorina said, reacting to the indictments on Monday. Fiorina, an outspoken promoter of deceptively edited videos by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) — whose two leaders the Houston jury incited on charges of “tampering with a governmental record” and “the purchase and sale of human organs” — has staked her campaign on the lie she told a September debate audience: The videos showed “a fully formed fetus on the table its heart beating its legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.” > > Despite the grand jury’s two month investigation finding no evidence of such a scene, Fiorina stuck to the script. “Here’s what I know: Planned Parenthood has been trafficking in body parts. Planned Parenthood has been altering late-term abortion techniques to this specific purpose of harvesting body parts,” she told CNN. > > “I’m disturbed,” Marco Rubio said of the indictments against CMP president David Daleiden. “We’ll need to learn more, but I’m disturbed that while Planned Parenthood, who are the ones that were actually selling off these (body) parts were found having done nothing wrong, the people who tried to expose them are the ones that are now facing criminal charges.” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/64 "2016-01-26T16:54:39Z")
I’m not sure if Fiorina believes any of it or if she is just pandering to that part of the base. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/65 "2016-01-26T17:37:58Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Yeah, this is pretty interesting. A Republican DA who started off investigating PP ended up presenting evidence to a grand jury sufficient to have CMP activists indicted. > > I think it’s a good time to laud some Republicans for integrity: this DA shows every sign of being a person of integrity, inasmuch as he clearly let facts on the ground change his mind. (A similar circumstance might be if a Democratic DA, under other circumstances, prosecuted PETA activists for similar crimes–although the analogy breaks down due to extremist influences, but that’s another discussion). > > I’m really curious to see what the “tampering with a government record” charge consists of. If it’s fake documents they used to gain access to PP, I don’t much care, and might even oppose the charge based on the general benefits of undercover journalism (“might” being a key word there, would need to know specifics). If it’s tampering in the sense that they engaged in deceit sufficient to lead to investigations of Planned Parenthood, I’m much more pleased with the charges; while I support undercover journalism, I absolutely don’t support bearing false witness. The DA is a she, by the way. And it seems that the faked documents are forged ID cards that allowed the accused criminals to get into the PP office as people allowed to get the material. The right is very much the end justifies the means kind of people, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/66 "2016-01-26T18:06:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The DA is a she, by the way. And it seems that the faked documents are forged ID cards that allowed the accused criminals to get into the PP office as people allowed to get the material. > > The right is very much the end justifies the means kind of people, aren’t they? So she is–I thought “Devon” was a male name, but looks like it’s unisex. Learn something new every day! But AFAICT, Devon is a Republican appointed by Rick Perry, so your last sentence is kind of belied by Devon’s own actions. PMC is absolutely ends-justifies-the-means, though, and on balance I’m pretty okay with their getting dinged for forging ID cards. Even though undercover journalism is important and there shouldn’t be laws designed to target it (as there are in NC now), journalists shouldn’t get some sort of exception from laws that are otherwise good public policy. If more journalists start forging government documents in order to gain access to places they shouldn’t have access, it undermines the trust in those very documents. Knowing that people are prosecuted for gaining such access serves as a deterrent and therefore as a means of strengthening the value of those documents. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/67 "2016-01-26T18:17:18Z")
I don’t care about busted, just want them _totally_ exposed. Truth is enough for me, if I can even get that! ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/68 "2016-01-26T20:29:16Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The right is very much the end justifies the means kind of people, aren’t they? You don’t need to follow rules when you’re righteous. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/69 "2016-01-26T20:46:17Z")
And of course, the GOP candidates are reacting [as expected.](http://qz.com/603061/republican-candidates-are-in-deep-denial-over-the-anti-abortion-activists-who-tried-to-entrap-planned-parenthood/?utm_source=YPL&ref=yfp) Fiorina still doesn’t get it. > [@](#): > > “Here’s what I know: Planned Parenthood has been trafficking in body parts. Planned Parenthood has been altering late-term abortion techniques to this specific purpose of harvesting body parts.” Carson still thinks he’s going to be elected. > [@](#): > > His campaign added:“As President, he will use the full weight of his office to not only cut off all federal funding for this organization, but also prosecute them for crimes against the unborn.” Rubio apparently doesn’t understand the court system. > [@](#): > > “I’m disturbed that while Planned Parenthood, who are the ones that were actually selling off these [body] parts were found having done nothing wrong, the people who tried to expose them are the ones that are now facing criminal charges,” Florida senator Marco Rubio told CNN on Monday. And what’s with the “body parts”? Since when are fetal organs transplanted? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/70 "2016-01-26T21:05:37Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So she is–I thought “Devon” was a male name, but looks like it’s unisex. Learn something new every day! > > But AFAICT, Devon is a Republican appointed by Rick Perry, so your last sentence is kind of belied by Devon’s own actions. I said right, not Republican, since I was aware that she was a Republican. Maybe I should have said far right. There are still a few Republicans who believe in the rule of law. I don’t agree with Jeb! at all, but at least he is not a slimeball like Cruz or Carson. And I don’t include Trump because I still think he might be a Democratic mole. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/71 "2016-01-26T21:10:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I said right, not Republican, since I was aware that she was a Republican. Maybe I should have said far right. Fair enough. I still harbor hopes that principled people can wrest control of the Republican party back from the fluffernutters at the wheel now, so I want to give props where they’re due :). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/72 "2016-01-26T21:36:14Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And what’s with the “body parts”? Since when are fetal organs transplanted? Body parts don’t have to be transplantable for you to [get into trouble](http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/03/us/indianapolis-stolen-brains-ebay/) when trying to sell them. I’m waiting for a forthcoming Dope thread: “Should I mention my conviction for trafficking in body parts when I go for the job interview?” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/73 "2016-01-26T21:45:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Body parts don’t have to be transplantable for you to [get into trouble](http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/03/us/indianapolis-stolen-brains-ebay/) when trying to sell them. > > I’m waiting for a forthcoming Dope thread: “Should I mention my conviction for trafficking in body parts when I go for the job interview?” But a fetus doesn’t have “parts”. Or at least not usable as “parts”. (Yes, I know it’s actually tissue samples for research) It’s the way the GOP goes on about selling “baby parts” when they’re not usable as “parts”. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/74 "2016-01-26T22:16:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > But a fetus doesn’t have “parts”. Or at least not usable as “parts”. (Yes, I know it’s actually tissue samples for research) > > It’s the way the GOP goes on about selling “baby parts” when they’re not usable as “parts”. This is totally deliberate. “Fetal tissue” doesn’t give rise to the same mental images as “baby parts” does. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/75 "2016-01-27T02:55:54Z")
Sounds vaguely like some sort of obstetric Kleenex ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/76 "2016-01-27T05:11:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > But a fetus doesn’t have “parts”. Or at least not usable as “parts”. Neither does a Chicken McNugget, but people buy and sell those all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/77 "2016-01-27T15:09:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Neither does a Chicken McNugget, but people buy and sell those all the time. Does anyone call chicken mcnuggets ‘chicken parts’ though? “Yeah I’ll have a quarter pounder and a 10 piece chicken parts” ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/78 "2016-01-27T17:04:22Z")
“Parts is parts.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/79 "2016-01-27T17:36:21Z")
From childhood experience as a chicken wrangler, it occurs to me that a McNugget is roughly the size of a chickens asshole. Just a coincidence. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167/80 "2016-01-27T20:29:05Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > “Parts is parts.” Where’s the beak? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planned-parenthood-sues-anti-abortion-group-behind-secret-videos/743167.md?page=5)