Ducey orders ban on sale of fetal tissue

Gov. Doug Ducey ordered state health officials to immediately put into effect “emergency rules” to ban the illegal sale of tissue from aborted fetuses.

The Republican governor’s directive Monday came in response to footage released by an anti-abortion group that showed a Planned Parenthood executive discussing procedures for providing fetal body parts to researchers.

The group behind the undercover video, the Center for Medical Progress, has claimed Planned Parenthood violated federal laws by selling fetal tissue of aborted fetuses to medical researchers. Planned Parenthood has said that’s false and criticized the group behind the video, saying the “outrageous claims are flat-out untrue.”

The president of Planned Parenthood of Arizona has said such procedures do not occur in Arizona.

Ducey said in a statement: “The footage released by The Center for Medical Progress regarding the alleged sale and trafficking of aborted fetal tissue and body parts by Planned Parenthood is horrifying and has no place in a civilized society. I am calling on the Department of Health Services to conduct a thorough review of the law and immediately promulgate emergency rules designed to prohibit the illegal sale of any tissue from an unborn child.

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“This is consistent with federal law and will deter action that we all agree is abhorrent,” the statement read.

Ducey has instructed officials with the state Department of Health Services to assist Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office.

In a statement, Brnovich said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video.

“As prosecutors, it is critical for this office not to rush to immediate judgment or determinations before facts can be established,” the statement said. “While we cannot comment on the status of any possible investigation, this type of allegation is something we take very seriously.”

Ryan Anderson, Brnovich’s spokesman, would not discuss in detail how the office is responding to the governor’s emergency rules.

USA Today contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712, or follow her on Twitter, @yvonnewingett.