For Immediate Release
December 21, 2016
Reprinted with permission from the Communications Director for the Select Investigative Panel Chairman Marsha Blackburn
Washington, DC — Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today released 15 criminal and regulatory referrals the Select Investigative Panel has made to federal, state, and local authorities over the course of its investigation.
Evidence uncovered by the Panel shows that a number of middleman tissue procurement businesses and abortion clinics may have violated 42 U.S.C. § 289g-2, a federal statute that makes it a 10-year felony to profit from the sale of human fetal tissue. The Panel discovered that StemExpress may have destroyed documents that were the subject of congressional inquiries, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 and referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Panel also discovered that some entities may have violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rights of vulnerable women, as well as federal regulations governing Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), for the sole purpose of increasing the harvesting of fetal tissue to make money.
[And here they are]:“Speaking as a woman, I am deeply troubled by what we have learned about the mistreatment of patients at a particularly difficult and vulnerable time in their lives. They are being treated with a disregard for their best interests and their rights as patients,” said Chairman Blackburn. “Women deserve better than this. They deserve better than to face any level of deception or pressure. We have seen instances in which profit-driven procurement businesses acting in conjunction with clinics violate women’s privacy rights under HIPAA. We have seen consent forms misrepresenting to women that cures for still uncured diseases have resulted from fetal tissue. It is disturbing to see so many cases where there is barely the pretense of consent or no consent at all before the remains of a baby are taken by researchers.”
Criminal and Regulatory Referrals
Select Investigative Panel
1) The Panel learned that StemExpress and certain abortion clinics may have violated the HIPAA privacy rights of vulnerable women for the sole purpose of increasing the harvesting of fetal tissue to make money. Referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read the Referral Letter here.
2) The Panel uncovered evidence via documentation and testimony from confidential informants indicating that StemExpress, a tissue procurement company that contracted with Planned Parenthood, violated the law by using alleged fraudulent and invalid consent forms on patients and misleading customers to believe it had valid approval from the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Allegations also include pressuring female patients to give consent or failing to obtain proper consent at all prior to selling baby body parts to customers. Referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read the Referral Letter here.
3) The Panel discovered that the University of New Mexico received baby body parts from a late-term abortion clinic allegedly in violation of the state’s Anatomical Gift Act. Referred to the Attorney General of New Mexico. Read the Referral Letter here.
4 & 5) The Panel conducted a forensic accounting analysis of StemExpress’ limited production and determined that it may have been profiting from the sale of baby body parts. Referral sent to El Dorado, California, District Attorney, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Read the Referral Letter here.
6) The Panel discovered that an abortion clinic in Arkansas allegedly violated the law when it allegedly profited from the sale of baby body parts to StemExpress. Referred to the Attorney General of Arkansas. Read the Referral Letter here.
7) The Panel discovered that DV Biologics, another tissue procurement company, may have been profiting from the sale of baby body parts and also may have failed to pay taxes to the state of California. The Orange County District Attorney has filed a lawsuit and the Panel sent a supplemental referral. Read the Referral Letter here.
8) The Panel learned that Advanced Bioscience Resources appeared to have made a profit when it sold tissue to various universities. Referred to the District Attorney for Riverside County, California. Read the Referral Letter here.
9) The Panel discovered that an abortion clinic in Florida, at least in part through its relationship with StemExpress, may have violated various provisions of federal and state law by profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. Referred to the Attorney General of Florida. Read the Referral Letter here.
10) After uncovering documents and receiving testimony, the Panel learned that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast sent baby body parts to the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, and may have violated the Texas Penal Code 48.02, which forbids profiting off the sale of baby body-parts, and Texas Penal Code Title 8, which makes it a crime to lie to a law enforcement officer or agency during a criminal investigation. Read the Referral Letter here.
11 & 12) The Panel has uncovered evidence from the eyewitness accounts of former employees and a patient alleging that a late-term abortionist murdered infants who showed signs of life, both when partially outside the birth canal and completely outside the birth canal. This is in violation of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and Texas murder statutes. The allegations have been referred to the Texas Attorney General, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Read the Referral Letter here.
13) The Panel has discovered information that StemExpress may have destroyed documents that were the subject of congressional inquiries, document request letters, and subpoenas, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519. Referred to the U.S. Department of Justice. Read the Referral Letter here.
14) The Panel uncovered documents and a complaint from a former patient alleging that the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Southwestern Women’s Options (SWWO) failed to provide informed consent to women before using the body parts of their babies after their abortions for research at the university. This is in violation of New Mexico’s state laws regarding informed consent, and a supplemental referral was made to the Attorney General of New Mexico. Read the Referral Letter here.
15) Over the course of its investigation, the Panel has uncovered documents and received testimony from confidential informants indicating that several entities, including four Planned Parenthood clinics and Novogenix, may have violated federal law, specifically Title 42 U.S.C. § 289g-2, which forbids the transfer of fetal tissue for valuable consideration. Referred to the U.S. Department of Justice. Read the Referral Letter here.