Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congressional Democrats Eye Legality Of Controversial Videos About Planned Parenthood And Fetal Tissue Research
Congressional Democrats are examining whether the antiabortion group that released videos of Planned Parenthood Federation of America officials discussing fetal tissue broke state or federal laws. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) on Thursday sent a letter to the antiabortion group the Center for Medical Progress. Mr. Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is looking into whether the organization sought charitable donations by posing as a nonprofit and whether the group secretly recorded Planned Parenthood employees without their consent. (Armour, 8/20)
The woman featured prominently in three of the Planned Parenthood sting videos says she鈥檚 unsure whether the women鈥檚 health organization should be shut down in light of the massive political controversy she helped ignite. Holly O鈥橠onnell, a 24-year-old from Northern California, said in a little-noticed conservative radio podcast that she is 鈥減ro-life鈥 and personally opposes abortion, but also calls it 鈥渆very woman鈥檚 choice.鈥 She said she participated in the videos as a whistleblower because she wanted to expose practices that she considers trafficking in fetal body parts 鈥 yet she still has praise for some of Planned Parenthood鈥檚 work. (Haberkorn, 8/20)