On Thursday, more than 50 organizations called on House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to disband a House panel’s baseless investigation into fetal tissue sales that’s endangered dozens of crucial research projects. This demand came hours after the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives announced it would continue its investigation until the end of the year — at the least.
“Members of your caucus on the panel have continued their fishing expedition with no regard for the safety of providers and researchers,” reads one letter to Ryan signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights, National Women’s Law Center, and 27 other rights organizations. “We urge you to disband the panel and end this thinly-veiled attempt to restrict access to abortion care.”
These groups echo the demands that 181 House Democrats sent to Ryan in May, telling the Speaker: “The onus is on you to put an end to this witch hunt. You cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the serious risks presented by the panel and still claim to fulfill your responsibilities as Speaker.”
We urge you to disband the panel and end this thinly-veiled attempt to restrict access to abortion care
This panel was created to investigate something that doesn’t exist: Planned Parenthood employees profiting off of fetal tissue. This assumption was based on videos made by an anti-abortion group that appeared to show Planned Parenthood doctors discussing the sale of abortion remains. However, more than a dozen investigations across the country have discredited these videos due to their highly edited content — a Texas court even indicted two of the videographers involved.
That didn’t stop GOP representatives from creating a special group to investigate the baseless claim. Republican members of the panel, led by Panel Chair Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), decided to instead subpoena medical companies, asking them to share the names of medical researchers, graduate students, laboratory technicians, and administrative staff who are in any way involved in fetal tissue research. This research is crucial to developing cures for a handful of fatal diseases, including Parkinson’s, HIV, and — ironically — Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
On Thursday morning, the panel held a press conference to discuss updates on its investigation. But Blackburn only shared one concrete update: they aren’t stopping anytime soon. The panel will release “results” by the end of the year. Despite estimates that the panel’s already spent $790,000, Blackburn did not share any new information from their investigation and spoke only in hypotheticals.
“First, the sale of baby body parts for profit could have a corrupting effect on the treatment of women facing an abortion decision,” Blackburn said, listing the panel’s discoveries. “Second, we are concerned with a history of babies being born alive and the sale of baby body parts at some late-term abortion clinics.”
The Thursday letters included precise examples of how the panel’s investigation has gone awry.
“In one case, the Chair issued ten subpoenas to investigate one doctor, including naming his family members, other doctors in the practice, and sending subpoenas to two hospitals, two small businesses, and three local emergency response entities,” reads one, signed by another collection of organizations that support reproductive rights. “The Chair went so far as to vilify the doctor in an accompanying media statement for performing abortions –- a completely legal medical procedure.”
The panel held its first hearing in March,