David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the pro-life activists/investigative journalists behind the series of videos released by The Center for Medical Progress exposing Planned Parenthood last year have been indicted by a Texas grand jury for Tampering with a Governmental Record; Daleidan has also been charged with an additional indictment for Prohibition of the Purchase and Sale of Human Organs.
From The Federalist:
A grand jury in Harris County, Texas, returned two charges on Monday afternoon against Daleiden, the activist who planned and organized the undercover sting videos. Although the grand jury allegedly investigated Planned Parenthood, no charges were brought against the nation’s largest abortion provider, whose executives were shown in multiple videos attempting to sell trafficked organs and other body parts harvested from aborted babies.
According to a press release from the office of Harris County district attorney’s office which was provided to The Federalist, Daleiden was charged with the purchase and sale of human organs, a misdemeanor, and with tampering with a governmental record, a felony. Sandra Merritt, one of Daleiden’s associates, was also charged with tampering with a governmental record.
“For more than two months, the 232nd Grand Jury extensively reviewed the joint investigation into allegations of misconduct by PPGC,” stated the press release. “This grand jury cleared PPGC of breaking the law. However, the grand jury did hand down indictments for two individuals who were involved in making the allegations against PPGC public via covert recordings made in April 2015.”
The indictment begs the question: How can Daleiden be charged with “the purchase and sale of human organs,” but no charges have been filed against Planned Parenthood? LifeSiteNews.com has launched a petition
On September 28, 2015, Alpha News reported that the University of Minnesota, contrary to the University’s claims from July, that the U of M had purchased fetal tissue from Advanced Bioscience Resources Inc. The report was followed up by several reports by Alpha News, The Daily Caller, LifeNews, and several other pro-life websites. The reports also inspired a pro-life protest by U of M college students, calling upon University President Kaler to take an official position on the issue and launch an investigation into the purchasing of fetal tissue by the U of M. Several lawmakers also have questioned the fetal tissue purchases and questioned the U’s state funding because of the issue.
The prolife website, LifeSiteNews.com, has launched a petition in support of David Daleiden, condemning the grand jury for failing to file charges against Planned Parenthood while indicting Daleiden, and asking that the charges against Daleiden be dropped. The petition, launched late Jan. 25, 2016, has gone viral, receiving over 28,000 signatures in 16 hours.
