Florida Governor Rick Scott has now launched an investigation into Florida's 16 Planned Parenthood office though the group says that their Florida chapters do not donate body tissues under any circumstances.
“The videos coming out about Planned Parenthood are deeply troubling to say the least. It is against the law for any organization to sell body parts,” said Scott in a release. “I asked AHCA Secretary Liz Dudek to begin immediately dispatching staff from their licensure office to evaluate the 16 Planned Parenthood offices in Florida that perform abortion procedures to ensure they are in full compliance with the law."
The series of three videos, put out over the past month by the group The Center for Medical Progress, show someone posing as an agent from a fake biomedical research company discussing fetal tissue donations and reimbursements. Planned Parenthood, however, says that they only do so with the permission of the woman who came in for the procedure, and make no money off of the donations.
None of the videos
The Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates says they have nothing to worry about as none of their chapters donate tissues.
In fact, while perfectly legal in other states, such tissue donations are outlawed in Florida.
“These political attacks claiming that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation are simply not true. While we do not have donations programs in Florida, some Planned Parenthood organizations in other states do, and they follow all laws and ethical guidelines. We always seek and welcome feedback from medical experts, but not from politicians," said executive director Laura Goodhue in a statement.
“We will, of course, cooperate fully with any investigation, but important medical issues shouldn’t be politicized. This isn’t what people in our state want our elected officials to spend their time doing.”
Florida has a total of 66 clinics that carry out abortions. Scott is only investigating those that are affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
