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Anti-abortion activists take part in a protest outside a Planned Parenthood centre construction site on January 21 Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

US anti-abortion video backfires as activists are indicted and Planned Parenthood is cleared

A Texas grand jury, investigating undercover videos depicting Planned Parenthood’s handling of fetal tissue, has cleared the organisation of wrongdoing - and instead indicted two abortion opponents involved in shooting the video in a Houston clinic last April.

Abortion opponents had pressed for the investigation, saying the video showed Planned Parenthood officials violating laws against the sale of fetal body parts and laws against changing abortion procedures to procure intact fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood denied the accusations and said the video was heavily edited by the Centre for Medical Progress, a California organisation that opposes abortion.

A screenshot from the controversial video shot by anti-abortion group the Centre for Medical Progress. Photo: YouTube/Centre For Medical Progress

The Houston videotape was among a series of undercover videos that the center released last summer, prompting a backlash against Planned Parenthood by abortion opponents, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who launched a state investigation of Planned Parenthood, and Republican officials who sought to exclude the organisation from Medicaid.

After spending two months reviewing evidence compiled by prosecutors, the Texas Rangers and Houston police, however, Harris County grand jurors on Monday determined that Planned Parenthood officials did not engage in misconduct, said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson.

Instead, the grand jury indicted David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, and Sandra Merritt with tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Merritt operated under an alias and claimed to be with BioMax, a company seeking fetal tissue for research, in many of the undercover videos, according to a lawsuit Planned Parenthood had filed in California.

“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” said Anderson, a Republican who was appointed by former Governor Rick Perry in 2013 to fill a vacancy created by the death of her husband, Mike Anderson. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us.”

The grand jury also indicted Daleiden on a charge related to the purchase and sale of human organs, a Class A misdemeanor, Anderson said.

Planned Parenthood officials said the indictments amounted to an exoneration for the organisation.

“These anti-abortion extremists spent three years creating a fake company, creating fake identities, lying and breaking the law,” said Eric Ferrero, a vice president for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“When they couldn’t find any improper or illegal activity, they made it up,” Ferrero said. “As the dust settles and the truth comes out, it’s become totally clear that the only people who engaged in wrongdoing are the criminals behind this fraud, and we’re glad they’re being held accountable.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a vocal critic of Planned Parenthood, said Paxton’s office is continuing to investigate Planned Parenthood.

“Nothing about today’s announcement in Harris County impacts the state’s ongoing investigation,” Abbott said. “The State of Texas will continue to protect life, and I will continue to support legislation prohibiting the sale or transfer of fetal tissue.”

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