“What Videos?”
The fifth undercover video exposing Planned Parenthood was released this week. Five different videos*, five different members of Planned Parenthood leadership, all casually discussing the unthinkable practice of harvesting and selling aborted baby parts.
When I mentioned these videos to a friend, she cocked her head and asked, “what videos?” She had not even heard of them.
Evidently my friend is not alone. Although the first video has been viewed almost 3 million times, according to an August 4 poll by Monmouth University, 53% of Americans still have not even heard of these videos. We need to change that!
Increased public awareness of this issue is critical in bringing about “an important turning point in our nation’s conscience.” As U.S. Representative Martha Roby declared, “As a nation we have to ask ourselves, ‘who are we?’ These aren’t specimens! These are babies for goodness’ sake!”
In the latest fifth video, Melissa Farrell, director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Houston, Texas, matter-of-factly discusses their willingness to alter the abortion process in order to obtain the specific body parts requested by researchers — or even to deliver a child “fully intact.”
When the undercover “buyers” ask if Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast could change abortion procedures to supply intact fetal specimens, Ms. Farrell confirms, “Some of our doctors in the past have projects and they’re collecting the specimens, so they do it in a way that they get the best specimens, so I know it can happen.”
She continues, “If we alter our process, and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, we can make it part of the budget that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this. It’s all just a matter of line items.”
Altering abortion techniques to benefit a third party is a violation of federal law which prohibits abortion providers from altering the “timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy. . . solely for the purposes of obtaining the tissue.”
To make matters worse, in the fifth video an employee also adds that Planned Parenthood’s ability to extract intact babies depends on “how cooperative the patient is during the procedure,” especially once “you’ve pretty much maxed out…their [pain] tolerance.” These abortions not only brutally destroy children, they put women at even greater risk of harm.
Although a California judge issued a restraining order against releasing more videos, “The restraining order reportedly only pertains to the footage of the StemExpress employees, meaning that any other footage, including that featuring Planned Parenthood employees, can still be released as planned.”
Who is behind these videos?
You might be surprised. The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) was founded in 2013 by then 24-year-old David Daleiden. David explains, “I’m a proud Millennial [and] the child of a crisis-pregnancy situation with all the twists and turns that might bring, but I’m very happy to be here and grateful for the presence of other people in my life who were conceived and born in less than perfect circumstances.”
In response to critics, David says, “I encourage everyone to look at the evidence itself and draw your own conclusions. The full conversation footage has been available on the CMP YouTube channel since Day One, along with a full transcript. Good undercover work is not dishonest — it’s always oriented toward communicating truths that otherwise would be buried, and so most people don’t have a problem with that unless they have something to hide.”
Before starting CMP, Mr. Daleiden worked with Lila Rose, who when she was 15 years old, founded the pro-life group Live Action. At age 18 Lila Rose began going to Planned Parenthood facilities wearing hidden cameras, and producing videos exposing the truth about the abortion industry. Her courage paved the way for David’s organization and these videos.
One teenage girl. One young man. Never underestimate the power of one person to make a difference!
Some positive things coming from the videos:
On Monday, Aug 3, the U.S. Senate held a vote on whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood. While it was disappointing that the 53-47 vote did not reach the 60 votes needed, we now have a clear and useful record of where each Senator stands. This could be even more important as elections come closer. Click here to see how your Senator voted.
Pro-life movements are gaining momentum across the United States. Under the banner of #womenbetrayed, over 12,000 people rallied in 65 cities across the United States to to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Reagan Nielsen, the rally captain in St. Louis Missouri said, “this is just the beginning, and momentum behind the movement will continue to grow.”
The worst of times can often bring out the best in people, and this is no exception. One of the hottest trending hashtags in Twitter is now #UnplannedParenthood. It is filled with uplifting personal stories of abortion survivors and others who are glad to be alive even though they were an unplanned pregnancy. Some of the tweets include:
• #UnplannedParenthood <—- that’s me! Mom got pregnant w/ an IUD. I’m pretty happy she chose to give me a chance at life.
• My birth mother was 16 when she had me. She gave me up for #adoption. I’m alive because of that decision. #unplannedparenthood
• Deaf and has Down’s. Glad his parents chose life, he brightens mine. #UnplannedParenthood
• I wouldn’t be able to call him brother & hero if his mom didn’t choose life #UnplannedParenthood
News reporter Brit Hume summed up the impact of the videos with this powerful statement:
Whatever comes of the revelations about Planned Parenthood and its participation in the traffic in fetal body parts, those revelations will have achieved one thing: they have parted the veil of antiseptic tidiness behind which the abortion industry has for so long operated. The sight of a senior Planned Parenthood official, and a doctor to boot, discussing the market for fetal body parts in between bites of salad and sips of wine was stomach-turning.
That’s because it laid bare the essentially brutal nature of abortion. Let’s be blunt: abortion involves the extraction and killing of a human life, which within a couple of weeks of pregnancy has a beating heart. Five weeks in, its hands and legs begin to grow. It is these tiny creatures, and too often ones that are far more developed, that are pulled from a mother’s womb and crushed with forceps.
Oh, but oh-so-carefully, lest body parts that can be sold are preserved. This gruesome procedure shows the extent to which we, as a people, have been anesthetized by the estimated 55 million—fifty-five million—abortions performed since the Supreme Court discovered a constitutional right to that procedure 42 years ago.
Will we as a nation not someday look upon that decision and what it has done to us, not to mention the 55 million, with horror and regret? One can only hope we will.
Please forward this email to your friends and family. We don’t want anybody to be unaware of these videos, and the fact that Planned Parenthood is “making certain abortions happen, not about salvaging those already done.”
We must continue to spread the word and increase the pressure for an investigation of Planned Parenthood. We must stop them from continuing to hurt our children, our families, and our future!
Faithfully for Families,
Laura Bunker
United Families International, President
*Video #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
*Video #2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
*Video #3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
*Video #4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
*Video #5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?