We stand with David and Sandra The Center for Medical Progress, a citizen journalist group based in Orange County, has been in the news since 2015 when footage from their investigative journalism study was first made public. Their hidden camera footage documents tissue procurement technicians harvesting organs from aborted fetuses for medical research and abortion industry executives discussing the violation of State and Federal law: trafficking fetal body parts for profit. Congressional investigations following this exposé have so far resulted in the successful prosecution of two LA area procurement companies. In December 2017, DV Biologics and DaVinci Biosciences were shut down and ordered to pay millions of dollars in settlement fees. The District Attorney of Orange County credited CMP for helping to make that happen. Officials in Sacramento refused to do an audit of our local Planned Parenthood affiliates back in 2015, but this prosecution should make them reconsider. Along with the dozens of other Congressional referrals, it points to the likelihood of this being a systemic problem. However, our State Attorney General is instead charging David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of CMP for eavesdropping. The criminal charges stem from footage they took at restaurants and at the National Abortion Federation conference in San Francisco. The judge presiding over their civil case, William Orrick, has close ties to Planned Parenthood but refuses to recuse himself from a case he is incapable of judging in an unbiased manner. Also, those filmed encounters do not fall under the category of confidential communications—they were filmed in places where servers, conference attendees and other passersby could overhear the conversation. David and Sandra face up to a decade in jail and heavy fines for investigating a rogue industry that is accountable to no one. Not to anyone in our home State, at least. A Federal investigation into the actions of multiple organizations, including four California Planned Parenthood affiliates, was announced at the end of 2017. HIPPA violations and post-hoc accounting were among the problems mentioned in the documents the DOJ obtained. The practices of the abortion industry are of significant public concern, as demonstrated in ongoing national and international conversations on the topic, and no one covering it should be silenced. These charges against David and Sandra have no foundation, and we at Pro-Life San Francisco continue our work to see justice served. /prolifesf /prolifesf Sources The Human Capital Project http://centerformedicalprogress.org/human-capital/ Sacramento Bee: California panel rejects Planned Parenthood audit https://sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article32356023.html Orange County District Attorney News Release http://orangecountyda.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=2&Entry=5406 LA Times: Firms reach $7.8-million settlement over allegations of selling fetal tissue http://latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-fetal-tissue-20171209-story.html Select Investigative Panel: Criminal and Regulatory Referrals https://archives-energycommerce.house.gov/news-center/letters/select-investigative-panel-criminal-and-regulatory- referrals Grassley Refers Planned Parenthood, Fetal Tissue Procurement Organizations to FBI, Justice Dept. for Investigation http://grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-refers-planned-parenthood-fetal-tissue-procurement- organizations-fbi Attorney General Xavier Becerra Announces Charges Filed Against David Robert Daleiden for Criminal Invasion of Privacy http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-xavier-becerra-announces-charges-filed-against-david- robert Federal Appeals Court Orders Formal Responses to Petition that Judge Step Down in Abortion Lawsuits http://thomasmoresociety.org/federal-appeals-court-orders-formal-responses-petition-judge-step-abortion-lawsuits/ Reuters: U.S. Department of Justice investigating fetal tissue transfers https://reuters.com/article/us-usa-plannedparenthood/u-s-department-of-justice-seeks-documents-on-fetal-tissue- transfers-idUSKBN1E20HA CNN: Justice Dept. is investigating the use of fetal tissue https://cnn.com/2017/12/07/politics/justice-department-fetal-tissue-investigation/index.html Kamala Harris teamed up with Planned Parenthood to target David Daleiden https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/27/kamala-harris-planned-parenthood-teamed-up-on-legi/ Sandra Merritt Seeks to Recuse AG and Dismiss Charges https://lc.org/newsroom/details/072518-sandra-merritt-seeks-to-recuse-ag-and-dismiss-charges Accessed 1-29-2019.