Following the release of the Center for Medical Progress’s bombshell videos exposing that Planned Parenthood was breaking numerous laws as part of their side business trafficking in the body parts of aborted babies, Colorado officials announced they wouldn’t be bothering to investigate—Attorney General Cynthia Coffman passed the buck to the state health department, which punted.
Since then, pro-lifers in the Centennial State have tried to rectify the situation via HB 1200, which would give the attorney general’s office the authority to investigate fetal tissue transfers on its own, without the Department of Public Health and Environment having to take the lead. Unfortunately, Colorado Family Action brings word that the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee has killed the bill in a 5-4, party-line vote.
CFA’s Michael Norton explains why this bill was so important:
Unfortunately, to date, no Colorado Executive Branch agency has taken responsibility for the enforcement of current Colorado law. When pressed to investigate the patently illegal conduct by Denver’s Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in the Center for Medical Progress video, the Colorado Attorney General acknowledged that she was “closely monitor[ing] developments related to this controversy.” The Attorney General contended that, unless she was specifically requested by the Governor to investigate this “controversy,” she “lack[ed] authority to enforce” the provisions of C.R.S. 25-2-111.5.
That’s another detail that makes this vote more damning than the obstructionism of pro-aborts in other states. While most of Planned Parenthood’s apologists hide behind excuses like “the videos at worst show isolated incidents that have nothing to do with us” or “our state doesn’t even have a tissue donation program” (never mind that PP hasn’t truly come clean on how many states did have programs), Colorado happens to be the home of Planned Parenthood’s Rocky Mountains affiliate… one of the stars of the CMP videos.
PPRM’s vice president and medical director Savita Ginde was caught on tape acknowledging it was “a baby” she was hacking up for parts, alluding to killing “intact”—i.e., born—babies for parts, referencing forms that say the parts are collected for nonexistent studies, and discussing payment “per-item” so “we can see how much we can get out of it”—profit, not cost reimbursement.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains is one of the worst offenders in this entire scandal; there is no conceivable reason to vote against investigating them other than rank favoritism toward a political ally. (And that’s before we even get into PPRM’s various offenses unrelated to the CMP videos—forced abortion, enabling a 13-year-old’s rapist, misuse of tax dollars, and more.)
Because the committee’s abortion apologists were acting out of partisan allegiance rather than principle, it’s only natural their dereliction of duty was accompanied by dishonesty, as recounted by a Colorado Family Action email:
During the hearing, Rep. [Dianne] Primavera [D] attempted to justify Planned Parenthood’s importance by stating that they perform mammograms. Norton, a former U.S. attorney, had to clarify for the representative that Planned Parenthood does not even have the required licensing to perform mammograms.
Seriously? Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards admitted way back in September that her organization doesn’t offer mammograms. So how is it that six months later, her followers in elected office think they can get away with such an obsolete lie? (Then again, the President of the United States gets away with repeating it despite it having been debunked years beforehand, so…)
Rep. [Susan] Lontine [D] also interrupted Rep. Ransom’s opening statement regarding HB 1200 and argued that the lawsuit regarding Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountain’s alleged cover-up of the rape of a 13-year-old minor girl had nothing to do with investigating the abortion giant and indicated that it did not cast suspicions on their business practices.
Blatant disregard for the welfare of a teenage girl in their care tells us nothing about the organization’s willingness to put their self-interests above their patients in other ways? Knowing it flouted the law on reporting statutory rape is doesn’t suggest it’s capable of flouting the laws regulating fetal organs?
The chair of the committee, Rep. Su Ryden, also said she believed Rep. Ransom’s bill was a witch hunt intended to go after abortion providers, specifically Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
Yes, because only the ears of a partisan extremist could possibly perk up at the sound of a suspect saying things like “Just a registration that says we’re doing it for study […] it’s not a real study.” Or “A lot of times I‘ll get a full torso, spine, kidneys. You could send the whole thing or pick that apart.” Sure.
Many public officials across the country have disgraced themselves in response to these revelations about Planned Parenthood, but arguably few have done so as egregiously as these five Colorado lawmakers—Ryden, Lontine, Primavera, Mike Foote, and Max Tyler. They know that almost unthinkable evil is happening in their state, yet choose to do nothing. It’s the latest reminder that the price of embracing Planned Parenthood and its alleged benefits is nothing less than one’s soul.
