by Diane Robertson
About the same time the State of California charged David Daleiden, the man responsible for releasing undercover videos of Planned Parenthood selling baby parts, with 15 felonies, the United States Congress dismissed an Obama administration rule that prohibited the states from defunding Planned Parenthood.
After Daleiden released the videos in 2015, several states moved to defund Planned Parenthood. The Obama Administration made that illegal in December 2016. The federal Health and Human Services department used Title X, the federal family planning program, to prohibit states from redirecting health care dollars away from Planned Parenthood and toward public health agencies that actually provide prenatal care for women. With that interpretation, the 15 states that did not want give tax money to Planned Parenthood, had no choice. Law required them to fund the largest abortion provider in the nation.
Last week, the senate, in a vote 50 to 51, with Vice President, Mike Pence as the deciding vote, overturned the HHS ruling. States can now put Medicaid money toward clinics they decide are best for the women in their state.
At the same time, David Daleiden, a true pro-life hero, was charged by the state of California for “illegally” filming 14 people without permission in Los Angeles, San Francisco and El Dorado counties. The state filed one felony count for each person filmed and a 15th charge for “criminal conspiracy to invade privacy.” In a hypocritical statement, the California AG said, “The right to privacy is a cornerstone of California’s Constitution, and a right that is foundational in a free democratic society.”
Daleiden simply participated in undercover journalism, which isn’t illegal. Selling dead baby parts is illegal. But those in charge in California love abortion. They will not prosecute Planned Parenthood. Instead, their former Attorney General, Kamala Harris, collaborated with Planned Parenthood and passed legislation that specifically targeted Daleiden and his company, the Center for Medical Progress, that retroactively criminalizes recording conversations between a company and a journalist without consent of both parties.
The law and the charges are fraudulent and a criminal use of power. Hopefully, Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress will be able to escape this tyranny. In the meantime, we can be thankful that one bad law was overturned and states can choose which healthcare facilities to fund.