Congress gets to see unedited Planned Parenthood videos

Planned Parenthood

Congress gets to see lengthy, unedited videos

Anti-abortion activists have given Congress lengthy, unedited videos they recorded showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing their retrieval of fetal tissue, a Republican House committee chairman said Wednesday. Democrats complained that the recordings seemed to be copies and not originals. That could mean they wouldn't help resolve conflicting claims about whether the videos — including shorter versions that abortion foes began posting online this summer — were misleadingly edited. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed the recordings last month as part of an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood has illegally sold tissue from aborted fetuses for profit. The chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said he has set up a viewing room where Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides can see the recordings. He said the videos will not be released to the public now "out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and security of all individuals recorded." Chaffetz said the footage contains nearly 800 gigabytes of data.

Associated Press