In January, a trial court ordered Pro-Life journalists to pay more than $13 million in legal fees for abortion giant Planned Parenthood. This unjust decision is part of a complex, larger legal case involving the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The abortion industry continues to thwart justice by demanding compensation from the Pro-Life journalists who exposed their crimes. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is representing CMP, announced that they had appealed the decision.
For five years, CMP has fought in defense of the truth. In 2015, the Pro-Life organization released undercover videos documenting abortion businesses trafficking human body parts taken from babies killed in abortion. Instead of prosecuting the criminals, Planned Parenthood and their cronies profiting from the sale of baby body parts, the justice system has been distracted by specious lawsuits against the very people who brought the crimes to light.
In 2016, Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion business, sued CMP. In videos released by CMP, Planned Parenthood abortionists were caught red-handed haggling over the price of baby body parts and offering to alter abortion procedures to preserve highly desirable organs. Clearly, this was not a good look for the mega-abortion business, and the public relations arm of Planned Parenthood wanted the videos ignored.
Almost unbelievably, Planned Parenthood was bold enough to sue the undercover journalists who revealed their crimes. Never disputing the specific and horrifying revelations of the hours upon hours of unedited footage CMP captured, Planned Parenthood went after CMP claiming that their recording violated California law.
With the full support of anti-Life Kamala Harris, then the California attorney general, the abortion business fabricated charges against David Daleiden, the head of CMP, and the other Pro-Life journalists who worked with him. As Texas Right to Life previously reported, the charges brought against Daleiden, for which he could potentially face jail time, will likely have a chilling effect on free speech. When the rights of undercover journalists are not recognized, people will likely be less inclined to use the tried-and-true methods of undercover investigation to expose wrongdoing.
The precedent set by prosecuting Daleiden and CMP was so gravely unjust, even anti-Life legal scholars went on record saying, “Whatever the precise facts of this case prove to be, the prosecution has broader implications, and not just for abortion and anti-abortion speech. Undercover exposés play a vital role in informing the American public of important facts that would otherwise remain hidden.”
In a grave miscarriage of justice, a jury ruled in 2019 that Planned Parenthood should receive $870,000 in punitive damages and up to $1.4 million in compensatory damages for the undercover videos, which were recorded between 2013 and 2015. On top of this $2.3 million, which CMP has appealed, the abortion giant is now demanding an astronomical $13 million from CMP for the cost of attorneys and legal fees.
ACLJ, which is representing Daleiden, appealed the ruling and continues to defend Daleiden and CMP against the irrelevant and specious challenges from the abortion industry.
CMP’s ongoing legal battle indicates the importance of Pro-Life President Donald Trump’s efforts to appoint strong Constitutionalist judges who will not be swayed to do the bidding of the abortion industry. Additionally, CMP’s fight in California should serve as a warning. Kamala Harris, who is strongly anti-Life and great friends with Planned Parenthood, is no longer and attorney general but now vice president of the United States.
Follow Texas Right to Life for updates on CMP’s case. The horrific crimes uncovered by the Pro-Life journalists put the humanity of the preborn child front-and-center in the national consciousness. That reason alone is reason enough for Planned Parenthood to do anything possible to prevent CMP from continuing to speak the truth and share the videos recorded.