Planned Parenthood head apologizes for official’s fetal organ comments, as fallout grows

Planned Parenthood’s president apologized Thursday for comments made by the group’s medical research director in a secretly recorded conversation about collecting fetal body parts, as outrage over the graphic video mounted on Capitol Hill where lawmakers are launching several investigations.  Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, defended the organization’s practices and maintained the group does not illegally sell fetal tissue. But, in a video statement, she acknowledged one of their staff members spoke in a way that does not “reflect” the “compassionate care that we provide.”  “This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff members tone and statements,” Richards said.  Richards does not directly name Deborah Nucatola, the group official in the video. The video was secretly recorded last year and released to the press this week by the pro-life group, Center for Medical Progress.  The video shows Nucatola at a lunch with two anti-abortion activists posing at representatives of a biotech firm apparently interested in talking about fetal tissue donations. It shows her munching on what looks like salad and sipping on red wine while discussing fetal lungs and “lower extremities” in hot demand.  She says in the video: “Weve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so Im not gonna crush that part, Im gonna basically crush below, Im gonna crush above, and Im gonna see if I can get it all intact.”

 

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