SAN FRANCISCO, October 23, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-life undercover journalist David Daleiden told a San Francisco Federal court Monday that he “held human fetal organs in my hands” in the course of the 30-month sting operation that exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of aborted-baby body-parts.

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Daleiden, 30, is project lead for the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which released undercover videos in July 2015 that shocked the world and has led to ongoing Department of Justice and the FBI investigations of Planned Parenthood.

In retaliation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America is accusing Daleiden, CMP undercover reporters Sandra Merritt and Geraldo Lopez, and CMP founding board members Albin Rhomberg and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue of wiretapping, fraud, and violating the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statutes, and is claiming millions of dollars in damages.

Planned Parenthood called Daleiden as a witness on the 11th day of the month-long federal trial and thus he faced a “hostile perspective” before being able to tell his story, defense lawyer Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society explained in a Facebook update on the trial.

However, Daleiden’s response on cross-examination by Planned Parenthood lawyer Rhonda Trotter that was intended to undermine his credibility with the jury was “incredible,” Breen reported.

Trotter grilled Daleiden on his 2013 project proposal to go undercover to investigate illegal aborted baby body parts trafficking, his incorporation of CMP as the organization to support that operation, and his creation of the front company BioMax to penetrate fetal harvesting industry networks.

Daleiden appeared unfazed by Trotter’s attempts to trip him up by pointing out inconsistencies between his testimony and documents he filed six years ago, and to portray him as devious for posing as an employee of a company that didn’t do fetal tissue procurement as it claimed.

When BioMax exhibited at Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation or other abortion conferences, “it never intended to enter into an actual business relationship with any abortion service provider to provide fetal tissue from abortions for medical research, correct?” asked Trotter.

“Well, we never intended to commit the crime of actually trafficking in human body parts for valuable consideration,” Daleiden answered.

“That's not my question,” Trotter said.

“Stick with the question, please,” added Judge William Orrick.

BioMax was “open to looking at” providing “aborted human fetal tissue” but “based on our experience in actually exploring the marketplace for two and a half years, there is no ethical or legal way to provide the body parts of aborted children for experimentation,” Daleiden said.

“You didn’t -- you hadn’t done it at the time that you released the first video?” questioned Trotter.

“I handled aborted fetal tissue at two Planned Parenthood clinics during this undercover project, and I handled the actual individual body parts and organs,” Daleiden replied.

“Mr. Daleiden, that’s not the question,” Trotter persisted. “The question is: You never procured tissue prior to the time that you released the very first video in July of 2015; correct?”

“I -- I held human fetal organs in my hands,” Daleiden said.

Planned Parenthood asked Orrick to redact parts of the CMP documents that would reveal the gruesome nature of fetal organ harvesting to the jury, Breen said in his summary.

The judge’s bias on account of his ties to Planned Parenthood is well known. He negotiated a tenancy for a Planned Parenthood abortion center in San Francisco’s Good Samaritan Family Resource Center while a member of the latter’s board.

And Orrick agreed to redact “some tough stuff,” including “a picture of a little fetal heart hooked up to a Langendorff machine,” Breen said.

Testimony in Daleiden and Merritt’s parallel criminal prosecution revealed that to be used in this apparatus, the heart has to be harvested while the baby is still alive.

That’s something “the jury needs to see,” particularly because the accused’s intent is a critical defense against RICO charges, Breen noted. Daleiden and his team went undercover intending to investigate violent crimes against the person.

“It’s disgusting stuff we’re dealing with here, it’s trafficking in human organs and body parts of aborted children,” Breen said.

“If we’ve got material David was looking at pictures of hearts hooked up to machines and these poor little unborn children…why would the jury not be allowed to see that? Why would they not be allowed to know what David had in his mind, and what his team had in their minds, as they went undercover?”

Breen asked pro-lifers to pray for the defendants and the legal team as the trial continues at a “fast and furious” pace, and to pray for “the Planned Parenthood attorneys too, hopefully the good Lord will touch their hearts. Pray our judge, our jury, everybody involved in the process. Pray for justice.”

Planned Parenthood abortionists testify

Abortionists June Gupta, Planned Parenthood director of medical standards and guidelines, and Jennifer Castle, Planned Parenthood director of clinical services, also testified Monday.

Defense lawyer Paul Jonna questioned Gupta on the video in which Dr. Deborah Nucatola admits to changing the abortion procedure to obtain intact baby body parts.

“Was one of your reactions that: Jeez, maybe that’s not consistent with our own standards and guidelines?” Jonna asked, which drew an objection from Planned Parenthood lawyers that Orrick sustained.

Jonna asked Gupta, a nurse practitioner, the same question about a video in which Planned Parenthood abortionist Jennefer Russo “says that she also likes to change abortion procedures to harvest better fetal tissue.”

Gupta said she had no concern with the statement.

Orrick accused Jonna, when the jury left for a break, of “knowingly” running “afoul” of his orders banning certain lines of questioning, including Planned Parenthood standards of care. Jonna replied he hadn’t done so knowingly.

Both Gupta and Castle testified they feared the CMP videos would reveal their identity as Planned Parenthood abortionists and open them to harassment, but both admitted on cross-examination they publicly self-identified as “abortion providers” on social media.

Castle admitted she mentioned in a recent article “Why I’m Proud to Provide Safe and Legal Abortions: Abortion Providers are Heroes,” that she was grateful she had four abortions, rather than four children, by the time she was 26.

Moreover, both Castle and Gupta acknowledged that they received no threats and incurred no expenses due to increased security because of the videos, according to a summary by Life Legal Defense Foundation.

Gupta admitted on cross-examination by lawyer Catherine Short that the video of her sharing a meal with Daleiden did not include conversation. In order for Planned Parenthood to recover damages, it must show that the videos record confidential communications.

Daleiden’s testimony is expected to continue through Wednesday, Oct. 23, after which the trial adjourns until next Thursday, Oct. 31.

To read Monday’s full testimony, go here.