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NEW YORK (AP) — One critic of Planned Parenthood says the organization is making "an admission of guilt."
Planned Parenthood announced today that it will no longer accept any sort of payment to cover the cost of programs that make fetal tissue available for research.
The announcement comes as Planned Parenthood is targeted by several congressional investigations -- following the release of secretly-recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials. The anti-abortion activists who released the videos say they prove that Planned Parenthood was trying to profit from the fetal tissue program. But Planned Parenthood says the videos were deceptively edited, and they deny seeking any payments beyond the reimbursement of costs.
David Deleiden, who led the undercover video effort, asks why Planned Parenthood would now be refusing payments for those programs, if the payments were in fact legitimate.
Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz (CHAY'-fits) says the policy change is a "good, tangible result" of the various House investigations. He says his Oversight and Government Reform Committee will continue its probe into Planned Parenthood's use of federal funding.
Planned Parenthood says its fetal tissue programs currently take place in only two states. It says the affiliate in Washington state already had a policy of accepting no reimbursement, and the California affiliate will now follow the same policy.
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APPHOTO NY569: In this Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 photo, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards is sworn in before testifying at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing on "Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding," in Washington. Responding to a furor over undercover videos, Planned Parenthood said Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 it will maintain programs at some of its clinics that make fetal tissue available for research, but will no longer accept any sort of payment to cover the costs of those programs. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (29 Sep 2015)
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