A politically conten tious investigation by Congres sional Republicans into the pr actices of Planned Parenthood and procuring of fetal tissue for research quietly concluded this week. It’s almost certain the fight isn’t over. The House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives filed i ts final report Tuesday, endin g a 15-month, $1.59 million un dertaking that appears to have been a futile search for damn ing evidence to hamstring Plan ned Parenthood operations and halt scientists’ use of fetal tissue in researching cures fo r a host of illnesses. GOP leaders submitted the 471- page opus in the waning moment s before the 114th Congress ad journed and the new 115th Cong ress convened. There was no press release nor news conference, simply a lin k on the House Energy and Comm erce Committee web site. If yo u didn’t know it was coming, y ou’d have missed it. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Was hington, one of the panel’s si x Democratic members, knew and didn’t. “This Panel has been a brazenl y partisan and ideological wit ch-hunt and it should never ha ve been created in the first p lace,” she said in a statement . DelBene represents the 1st C ongressional District, which i ncludes east Snohomish and Kin g counties. “I have seen firsthand how thi s so-called investigation has repeatedly shown contempt for the facts and disdain for the truth,” she said. “At a time w hen fake news is inciting real violence and intimidation, Co ngress shouldn’t be adding fue l to the fire by spreading ext reme anti-choice falsehoods an d fabrications in this report. ” The GOP’s silence this week st ands in contrast to the impass ioned speeches and statements accompanying creation of the p anel in October 2015. It was a big deal then as conservative Republicans got the go-ahead and money to carry out a no ho lds-barred investigation of th e nation’s best known provider of family planning and aborti on services. The panel convened hearings an d issued subpoenas for mounds of records from colleges, incl uding the University of Washin gton, and private companies. I ts Republican members also sou ght names of individuals invol ved in obtaining fetal tissue and performing abortions. Hidden camera videos alleged t o capture Planned Parenthood e xecs negotiating payments for harvested fetal tissue incited the furor preceding the panel ’s creation. And it didn’t dissipate even a fter those videos were found t o be doctored. However, it did prompt the panel’s Republican majority to add a disclaimer in the report stating : “The P anel did not design its invest igation to prove or disprove t he credibility of tapes releas ed by the Center for Medical P rogress.” Among the report’s recommendat ions are a call to ban abortio ns after 20 weeks, defund Plan ned Parenthood and give states “greater flexibility” to ban abortion providers from receiv ing federal funds. They also w ant to stop donation of fetal tissue from elective terminati ons and additional federal gui delines for use of human fetal tissue. What’s next is unclear. Though Republicans aren’t making muc h of the findings yet, Democra ts are bracing for legislation intended to carry many of the m out. They worry the House GO P could find allies within the administration of the incomin g Republican president. “While I welcome the conclusio n of the Panel, I remain grave ly concerned,” DelBene said. “ Women, and our country, cannot afford any more of these taxp ayer-funded crusades against w omen’s health.” Political reporter Jerry Cornf ield’s blog, The Petri Dish, i s at www.heraldnet.com. Contac t him at 360-352-8623; jcornfi eld@heraldnet.com and on Twitt er at @dospueblos.





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