Last year, the anti-choice group Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a documentary detailing the “grisly details of [Planned Parenthood’s] trade in aborted baby parts.” The documentary unleashed a political firestorm and put the debate over abortion back onto the front burner. In a few short weeks, however, the video was outed as a hoax.
But the witch-hunt didn’t end. The Republican-majority Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, formed in the aftermath of the controversy, and has used the video to support a massive subpoena sweep of institutions involved in fetal research.
CMP claims to advocate for “bioethical issues that impact human dignity.” In American political shorthand, that apparently stands for hindering science. In turn, the Select Investigative Panel seems to think that CMP’s crusade is a go-ahead to issue a wave of dragnet subpoenas. The scientists, at least, see through the BS. Quoted in the The Guardian, David Moore, the Association of American Colleges’ director of government affairs, said:
“The information that was requested from our institution is so voluminous and so broad that in some cases it extends far beyond fetal tissue research . . . . They’re collecting a large amount of information with absolutely no indication of why it’s being collected, how it’s going to be used, and no apparent process in place for outlining who’s going to have access to that information.”
The subpoena sweep targets the Biomedical Research Institute of America, Ganogen, Stem Express, and four unknown organizations.
What Is Fetal Tissue Research?
Fetal tissue research isn’t something undertaken without discussions over ethics. However, it’s often the best way to development new treatments for serious health problems, ranging from hepatitis to Zika. In fact, cells extracted from human fetal tissue have proven crucial in creating vaccines to combat measles, rubella, rabies, chicken pox, shingles and hepatitis A.
Dr. Lisnah Su, a professor and researcher at the University of Chapel Hill, NC, sums up the morality concisely:
“Using fetal tissue is not an easy choice, but so far there is no better choice . . . . Many, many biomedical researchers depend on fetal tissue research to really save human lives.”
The Select Investigation Panel Brings CMP To Congress
Though CMP has focused on the ethical controversy surrounding fetal tissue research, critics say the documentary and the ensuing political circus both act as thinly-veiled attempts to restrict abortion access. In a country where access to abortions is rapidly diminishing, such a political stunt plays well into the pro-life narrative that rallies a large segment of socially conservative Americans.
The Select Investigation Panel’s new round of subpoenas serves as an second chapter to CMP’s anti-abortion campaign. What’s at stake is women’s reproductive rights.
To get a better handle on the lay of the political landscape, it’s helpful to look beyond the panel to the members. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) chairs the investigative group. She’s a cookie-cutter conservative when it comes to social issues: she describes herself as “dedicated to preserving the core conservative principles that protect traditional marriage and the sanctity of life.” For a not-so-good time, you can read Blackburn’s op-ed on the mission and goals of the Select Investigative Panel here.
Sean Duffy (R-WI), another one of Blackburn’s Panel members, typifies the GOP’s anti-choice attitude. He champions “the voiceless,” politic-speak for developing fetuses, a constituency that – coincidentally – leaves women out. This January, Duffy landed in some hot water with the Congressional Black Caucus after claiming that abortion providers “targeted” black communities. The Caucus even went so far as to considering asking for formal condemnation.
Unfortunately for researchers and women alike, groups like CMP and their lackeys in Congress have their sights locked on Planned Parenthood, and fetal tissue research just happened to be in the way of this most recent volley fired. The result is more debate, more deliberation, and more stalled medical progress.
Featured image courtesy of John Pisciotta/Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
