Documents from a public records request have uncovered that Planned Parenthood and UC San Diego had an agreement to exchange aborted fetal tissues for benefits, violating federal law. This arrangement was detailed in a “Biological Materials Transfer Agreement” (MTA) contract that grants UCSD “access” to “fetal and placental tissue, which are proprietary materials of PPSD”. In exchange, the contract gives PPSD rights to “patents” and “intellectual property” developed by experimenting with them.
Federal law prohibits the exchange of aborted human fetal tissue for “valuable consideration,” with severe penalties, including imprisonment and fines. Despite this, UC San Diego has used fetal tissue in research that has led to numerous patents, garnering more than $127 million in revenue in 2021-2022.
Furthermore, an email exchange between Planned Parenthood and UCSD highlights plans for regular collaborative research meetings for discussing both research results and financial contributions to Planned Parenthood’s abortion training initiatives within the framework of their fetal tissue research partnership. This collaboration involves Planned Parenthood’s training programs at UCSD and other taxpayer-funded universities where they supply fetal tissues for research purposes.
To make matters worse, the public records have unveiled a $10,000 donation from UC San Diego to Planned Parenthood during a 2021 fundraiser, along with documentation for fetal tissue collection in San Diego by Planned Parenthood’s national research department. These documents were obtained through a lawsuit filed by the Center for Medical Progress, which previously exposed Planned Parenthood’s practices of harvesting and selling aborted fetal body parts in 2015.
“This new evidence shows Planned Parenthood sells late-term aborted baby body parts in violation of federal law, for far more money than has ever been discussed before,” said David Daleiden, founder and president of The Center for Medical Progress. “Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters knew about and approved these sales of aborted babies for valuable consideration as part of government-funded research grants.”
Daleiden went on to say that the scope of the federal OIG’s investigation into fetal tissue transactions should be expanded to include Planned Parenthood’s operations in San Diego and any other location where the abortion business has supplied fetal parts for taxpayer-funded experiments. He states that Planned Parenthood’s top officials must be held accountable and “answer under oath” regarding their involvement in “government-sponsored trafficking of late-term aborted babies.”
“Every human life is sacred from conception, and selling unborn baby parts for research is morally abhorrent. The agreement between Planned Parenthood and UC San Diego treats innocent, vulnerable human beings just like animals.,” said CFC Vice President Greg Burt. “This deeply revolting news reaffirms the need to pressure politicians to implement life-affirming policies and demand the laws against these crimes be enforced. Higher education institutions and the scientific community shouldn’t get a pass when they violate the human dignity.”
In 2015, Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress released undercover video footage showing Planned Parenthood’s executives negotiating the costs of fetal tissue from abortions and discussing modifications to abortion procedures to secure more intact organs. These videos exposed a robust aborted baby organ market between abortion clinics and research facilities. Right in the middle of this market was Planned Parenthood. Various for-profit companies were found to be facilitating this market by sending tech workers into Planned Parenthood abortion clinics to harvest the organs of aborted babies and then packaging them for resale to research facilities.
This case calls for a rigorous examination and a reevaluation of the relationship between medical research and abortion clinics. Pro-lifers must hold accountable those who would exploit human life for commercial gain and demand a thorough and transparent investigation to ensure that the dignity of every human being is respected and preserved.