The indictment of two pro-life activists from the Center for Medical
Progress has sparked outrage in the pro-life community. Though Harris
County, Texas, District Attorney Devon Anderson convened a grand jury in
Houston to investigate possible illegal acts by Planned Parenthood,
jurors ended up indicting David Daleiden, the investigative journalist
who exposed the abortion giant’s baby body-parts business.
From the beginning, pro-lifers have questioned the ability of the DA’s
office to conduct an unbiased investigation. Last year, the pro-life
group Operation Rescue revealed that Lauren Reeder, a prosecutor in the
DA’s office, sits on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood Gulf
Coast, the Houston-area abortion provider that was under investigation.
In her LinkedIn profile, Reeder touts her experience as former co-chair
of Planned Parenthood Young Leaders, saying she “worked to cultivate the
next generation of donors and community leaders committed to the
mission of Planned Parenthood through advocacy opportunities, monthly
happy hours, and annual fundraisers.”
Though Operation Rescue suggested the DA appoint an independent
prosecutor, Anderson told the Houston Chronicle last August that Reeder
wouldn’t be involved in the investigation.
“If at any time in the future, reliable and credible information is
brought to my attention that would question our ability to continue to
perform a fair, thorough, and independent investigation of this matter
due to her board membership, I will revisit the issue of seeking the
appointment of an independent prosecutor and act accordingly,” she said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement he would continue supporting
legislation banning fetal tissue sales and transfers. And Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement that a state-level
investigation into Planned Parenthood would continue: “The fact remains
that the videos exposed the horrific nature of abortion and the shameful
disregard for human life of the abortion industry.”
The grand jury charged Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, a CMP employee,
with tampering with a government record. Daleiden was also indicted for a
misdemeanor related to purchasing human organs.
The relevant state law, “Prohibition of the Purchase and Sale of Human
Organs,” states an offer to buy or an offer to sell human organs is a
Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine up
to $4,000. If convicted of tampering with a government record, Daleiden
and Merritt could face up to 20 years in prison. This is the first time
anyone from CMP has faced criminal charges.
If Anderson decides to move forward with the charges, Daleiden and
Merritt could settle for a plea agreement or request a trial.
CMP had a chorus of supporters on social media after news of the
indictment broke yesterday. Daleiden’s defenders accused the grand jury
of shooting the messenger.
“It’s as though the Watergate House Judiciary Committee were to have
impeached Woodward & Bernstein instead of Nixon,” tweeted Russell
Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and
Religious Liberty Commission.
Cheryl Sullenger, senior vice president of Operation Rescue, echoed
Moore’s sentiments in a statement to LifeNews.com: “We were
disappointed, to say the least, by the news that a grand jury chose to
indict the investigative journalists who were trying to expose and
report crimes in Houston, Texas. This has the effect of chilling the
First Amendment freedom of the press and could scare crime witnesses
away from coming forward for fear that they might suffer similar
retaliatory prosecution.”
But others see in the indictment an opportunity to further publicize
Planned Parenthood’s atrocities, this time in a court of law.
“Whatever laws may have been broken by CMP’s investigative methods
won’t amount to a hill of beans if the videos are entered as evidence,
examined by a jury, and the truthfulness of that record is established,”
conservative commentator Steve Berman wrote. “It’s going to be very
uncomfortable for [Planned Parenthood] executives on the witness stand,
under direct and cross-examination by CMP’s defense counsel.”
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
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