Collins says Congressional Committee will investigate allegations against Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) today released the following statement after a video purportedly revealed Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services discussing the sale of fetal body parts.

“Human life is sacred and must be protected,” Collins said today, a day after news broke of the Planned Parenthood video. “Planned Parenthood’s gruesome monetization of unborn children is absolutely unacceptable. I will join with Chairman Upton and my colleagues at the Energy and Commerce Committee to immediately look into this matter.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which Congressman Collins is a member, announced they would be holding an investigation into the video.

Eric Ferrero, Planned Parenthood’s vice president of communications, issued this statement about the video:

“In health care, patients sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research that can help lead to medical breakthroughs, such as treatments and cures for serious diseases,” Ferrero said. “Women at Planned Parenthood who have abortions are no different. At several of our health centers, we help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like every other high-quality health care provider does – with full, appropriate consent from patients and under the highest ethical and legal standards. There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood. In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed, which is standard across the medical field.

“A well funded group established for the purpose of damaging Planned Parenthood’s mission and services has promoted a heavily edited, secretly recorded videotape that falsely portrays Planned Parenthood’s participation in tissue donation programs that support lifesaving scientific research. Similar false accusations have been put forth by opponents of abortion services for decades. These groups have been widely discredited and their claims fall apart on closer examination, just as they do in this case.”