Sen. Rand Paul announces investigation into fetal tissue donation, research

Brett T. | 4:08 PM on December 22, 2015

Todd Starnes and other conservatives were incensed to find that Paul Ryan’s first budget deal as Speaker of the House fully funded Planned Parenthood despite a series of undercover videos suggesting that the organization has engaged in organ harvesting and the sale of fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood itself will avoid a newly announced investigation into government oversight fetal tissue research, as the organization does not perform tissue research itself. The videos, though, have prompted an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.

JUST IN: fetal tissue investigation launched in wake of Planned Parenthood videos: https://t.co/kAR5nn29Q8 pic.twitter.com/o50wBS7OJ7

— The Hill (@thehill) December 22, 2015

The Hill reports that the investigation comes after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and 34 other Republican senators wrote to the IG in October requesting an investigation. Paul announced today that the inspector general plans to review the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grants for fetal tissue research and its monitoring to make sure that no laws are being broken.

@thehill good.

— Gareth Bryne ⚔️ (@kmjoseph705) December 22, 2015

https://twitter.com/LibertyBelleIII/status/679394181903609856

https://twitter.com/howzitmann/status/679390451414122496

.@RandPaul announces federal probe of fetal tissue research after Planned Parenthood scandal https://t.co/0lsjyE2dCd pic.twitter.com/1hXBebsINs

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 22, 2015

The Washington Examiner reports that Paul, who is running for president, said in a statement that “Planned Parenthood selling body parts of the unborn demonstrates that the organization deserves not one penny more of our taxpayer dollars, and I am confident this investigation will give further proof of that.”

Planned Parenthood has denied doing anything illegal, but announced in October that it would no longer accept reimbursement for expenses related to fetal tissue donation for research purposes, despite the first two undercover videos showing high-level personnel haggling over organ prices.