� Failure Theater: Republicans, Having Already Approved Obama's Iran Sell-Out, Now Hope to Capitalize Electorally at Next Year's Elections | Main | The Big One: Pacific Northwest, Long Overdue for Massive Quake, Could See Portland and Seattle Swept from the Earth Like So Many Obama Negotiating Points with Iran � Since the US Media is Embargoing the Fetal Organ Sales Story, Here's the French Version The second largest newspaper in France, Le Fig, front-pages this and posts it as its seventh item -- mostly after news about Greece and Prime Minister Hollande's new goof of "autocelebration," where this penguin keeps talking about how "audacious" he is. So it's big news in France. Just not in the country it actually happened in. Sale of Fetal Organs: The Video that Embarrassed America's Planned Parenthood Par Eug�nie Basti� updated 15/07/2015 � 16:34 Tricked by pro-life agitators on hidden camera, an official of Planned Parenthood details the collection of and trafficking in [organs] has exposed the organization, accused of selling fetal aborted fetal organs for research. American conservatives demanded an investigation.

By the way, the call the agitators "militants," but that's not a biased term. The French always use that word, neutrally -- anyone who militates for a cause (whether the paper favors it or not) is a militant. I could change every instance of "militant" to "supporter" or "agitator" but whatever. The video stirred up the American "pro-life" groups (militants against abortion). Filmed by hidden camera, the images show an official of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA, the American equivalent of our own Planning Familial) speaking of aborted fetal organs that the organization sells to clinics for medical research. The video was published by the Center for Medical Progress, a group of activists against abortion. Two militants passed themselves off as representatives of a biotech research firm and filmed by hidden camera their encounter with Dr. Deborah Nucatola, official of Planned Parenthood, in July 2014, in a California restaurant. Is that "2014" a typo? If so, it's theirs, not mine. This doctor, between mouthfulls of salad and two gulps of red wine, speaks of the price of organs ("between 30 and 100 dollars" per "specimen") and makes reference to the fact that sometimes the fetus does not come out in one piece but [rather] dismembered. "We've become very good at getting the heart, the lungs, the livers, because, we know, and we try to not crush these parts of the body," the practitioner described sordidly. And of recounting in minute detail the best way of extracting the organs of a fetus intact during an abortion. Sordidly is their word; or, maybe, "squalidly." "Many people want the hearts. Yesterday, someone asked me for some lungs. Some of them want limbs. That, that's easy. I don't know that what they use this for, I guess that they want the muscle," she explained. The American criminal code states that "commercial traffic in parts of a body of an aborted baby is punishable by 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000." The PPFA has stated that they do not make any profit, but that it is reimbursed for the costs of transportation and overhead. By contrast, Planning Familial in France does not handle anything but prevention (birth control) and communication, while Planned Parenthood (American) manages clinics and medical centers which perform abortions. American conservatives rose up against "the sale of the pieces of babies." The video made for much chatter because it noted the usage of ultrasounds in abortion, which permit the keeping of the fetus intact, which can sometimes, according to the "pro-life" militants, lead to partial-birth abortions, considered by the law as infanticide. The spokesman of Planned Parenthood defended it in a communique, citied by the New York Times, "In some of our medical centers, we help the patients who want to give the organs to scientific research, and we do so with the consent of the patients and under the highest ethical and legal criteria." "There is no profit for the giving of the organs whether to the patients or to Planned Parenthood," he added. This was not enough to settle the controversy. Gloria Feldt, president of PPFA reacted in person on ABC had herself [previously] declared that "this seems totally inappropriate," and that she asked "for prosecutions," if such acts have indeed occurred.* American conservatives immediately reacted in accusing Planned Parenthood of "selling pieces of babies." Planned Parenthood is financed for a third [of its budget] by the federal government and the Republicans are looking for a way to shut it down. By way of response [retaliation], Republican leaders postponed a vote in the House of Representatives concerning a grant for breast cancer research, the group receiving the grant one which works with Planned Parenthood. A Republican candidate, former governor Rick Perry, characterized the video as "recalling disturbingly the penchant of this organization to make profits on the tragedy of the destruction of human life." As to Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, he ordered an investigation into the actions of Planned Parenthood in his state, where the organization plans to open a clinic, at New Orleans. The project is valued at 4 million dollars, and his been froze during the investigation. "This video of an official of Planned Parenthood discussing the systematic collection and trafficking of parts of the human body is shocking and horrible," declared the governor, who has also asked the FBI to look into any current criminal activity by the organization. ... So, it's news in other places. Just not in America, the land of free speech and the free press.

* This seems to be a badly-written and erroneous sentence. Gloria Feldt has addressed organ trafficking before -- but back in 2000. The quotes are from a 20/20 interview way back then, not in the current contretemps. I suppose they just meant that even Gloria Feldt has called for prosecutions, in the past, were this true. But they kind of garbled it, and I don't think it's my bad translating skills at work here. They just don't make the "in the year 2000" thing clear here at all.

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