The people behind the Planned Parenthood smear campaign are finally being prosecuted for their actions against the organization. According to reports, a grand jury in Texas has finished investigating the case, and David Daleiden and Sandra Merrit have been indicted for their part in the creation and distribution of the misleading videos about Planned Parenthood that recently began circling the internet.
The viral videos implied that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue on the black market, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In actuality, the organization distributes those tissues to biomedical research firms. These firms then use the tissue to research cures for debilitating diseases, such as cancer and AIDS. Daleiden was acting as the founder of a fake biomedical organization called the Center For Medical Progress. He used this fake organization to record Planned Parenthood employees without their consent and edited that footage to create the fake videos.
These videos caused major problems for Planned Parenthood, including the implementation of an anti-chioce campaign and even the murder of three people at a clinic in Colorado Springs. Daleiden received a felony charge of tampering with government records and a misdemeanor for purchasing human organs illegally. Merrit, his accomplice, was also charged for tampering with government records. Many people are extremely satisfied with the outcome of the case. Research shows that only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s funds actually go toward abortions. Instead, the majority of their funds are put toward important women’s health resources, including contraception, cancer screening tests, and STD tests.
The organization’s funds are used to provide these services at an affordable rate for those who would not be able to afford them otherwise. Previously, the organization was also targeted by a smear campaign, which was created by a religious group that intended to take away American women’s access to the health care provided by Planned Parenthood and their ability to make their own choices about what they do to their own bodies. Many people feel that justice was served and Merrit and Daleiden have gotten what they deserve after ruining Planned Parenthood’s reputation and attempting to take away certain rights from women across the nation.