Houston Grand Jury Investigating Planned Parenthood Decides to Indict Video-Making Anti-Abortion Activists Instead
Back in August a series of undercover videos were released that purported to show Planned Parenthood executives illegally selling tissue from aborted fetuses. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing–and multiple state investigations have turned up no evidence of any–but the release of the videos still sparked a rash of anti-abortion and anti-Planned Parenthood rhetoric that has not abated.
Many states have undertaken measures to investigate Planned Parenthood, but today, according to Dallas News, a grand jury in Texas announced that after a two-month investigation it has cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. It will, however, be indicting the anti-abortion group that made the videos.
According to Chron.com, a Houston grand jury has indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for tampering with a governmental record. “a second degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison.” Daleiden has also been indicted under the same law that prohibits the purchase and sale of human organs. That would reportedly be a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail.
”We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us. All the evidence uncovered in the course of this investigation was presented to the grand jury. I respect their decision on this difficult case.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott says this grand jury’s findings have no bearing on the state’s investigation into Planned Parenthood, which he says is ongoing and will continue to proceed.
(Photo: PlannedParenthood.com)
