An Orlando-based conservative Christian group has called on Gov. Rick Scott to choke off all forms of state funding for Planned Parenthood, saying the organization has broken the law and doesn’t deserve taxpayer money.
In a letter dated Sept. 22, 2015, Florida Family Policy Council President John Stemberger thanked Scott for investigating state Planned Parenthood affiliates after videos showing officials discussing fetal tissue were released by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress this summer. But Stemberger wanted Scott to go further.
Stemberger said because of what the videos show, the group should not get money through the state’s Medicaid program and Title X, a federal grant program for family planning and preventive health services.
"No organization with a record of illegal activity and abuse, now found to also illegally sell baby parts and likely altering abortion practices to do so, should receive taxpayer dollars," Stemberger wrote. (GOP presidential candidate and former Gov. Jeb Bush ended direct state subsidies for the group in 2001.)
Planned Parenthood has been subject to hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives because of the videos, but has it been proven the organization broke the law with their fetal tissue donations? The short answer is no, but there’s no shortage of accusations.
State investigation
To get up to speed, part of a Center for Medical Progress video shows Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, telling undercover activists that fetal tissue can be obtained for fees in the $30 to $100 range.
Activists against abortion rights say this is proof the group has a history of trying to "illegally sell baby parts," as Stemberger’s letter said. Many critics have argued Planned Parenthood has broken the law.
But there has been no legal ruling against the group. The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 allows a woman to consent to donating fetal tissue after an abortion. This tissue then can be donated to researchers, but allows providers to charge vaguely defined "reasonable payments associated with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of human fetal tissue." Planned Parenthood said discussions of payments were only about recouping costs, not making a profit.
Experts largely agree that the fees Nucatola describes are within the scope of the law.
The videos led to several congressional hearings on how Planned Parenthood uses federal funding. Planned Parenthood is a network of affiliated nonprofit organizations that cooperate with each other, led by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Funding comes from a wide range of sources, including private donations, grants, health center revenue and Medicaid. State and federal money cannot be used for abortion services.
Scott ordered the investigation into 16 Planned Parenthood health centers that provide abortion services and are operated by Florida’s two affiliated chapters. None of the state locations participate in a fetal tissue donation program.
The state Agency for Health Care Administration, which ensures health centers comply with state guidelines, cited three clinics for allegedly providing second-trimester abortions without a license, violations Planned Parenthood has denied. A fourth was cited for improper recordkeeping. (Planned Parenthood has sued Florida over the investigation.) None were cited for how they handled fetal tissue.
Other allegations