Indictments Over Planned Parenthood Videos Violate First Amendment, Group Says

The Center For Medical Progress said that indictments handed down against two of its members Monday for secretly recording Planned Parenthood clinics violates First Amendment protections that journalists have enjoyed for years.

A Houston grand jury Monday indicted David Daleiden on charges of tampering with a governmental record and prohibition of the purchase and sale of human organs. Sandra Merritt was also indicted on a tampering charge.

The two allegedly went undercover, using fake government identification and creating a fake medical business, to attempt to catch Planned Parenthood clinics, including one in Houston, selling fetal tissue for profit, which would be against the law.

The center says its heavily edited videos show Planned Parenthood employees negotiating the sale of fetal tissue, but the claims have been steadfastly refuted by Planned Parenthood, though they have apologized for the casual tone used by some workers in the video.

The Harris County District Attorney launched an investigation into allegations made against the women’s healthcare provider, which instead ended up with charges against the video’s makers.

“The Center for Medical Progress uses the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades in exercising our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and of the press, and follows all applicable laws,” the Center said in a statement.

“We respect the processes of the Harris County District Attorney and note that buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well. Planned Parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their leadership about fetal organ sales captured on video for all the world to see.”

Josh Schaffer, lawyer for Planned Parenthood, said on a media conference call Tuesday that the two workers for the Center created fake identification to gain access to Planned Parenthood clinics.

Schaffer also said that Daleiden sent an email to Planned Parenthood trying to buy fetal tissue for $1,600, but the email was never returned.

A request sent to the Center For Medical Progress from Patch seeking a response was not immediately returned.

Journalists haven’t always been protected for similar acts.

In 1992, for example, two ABC News reporters got jobs at Food Lion by submitting fake resumes so they could use hidden cameras to capture the grocery store chain’s unsanitary and illegal practices for selling meat.

Food Lion sued, and after the case worked its way through the courts, ABC News was liable for trespassing because they were not allowed to secretly video tape non-public areas of the store.