Planned Parenthood Partners Charged for Illegal Body Part Profits - Washington Free Beacon
Companies ‘set prices … without any attempt to comply with the law’
Bill McMorris - October 13, 2016 6:00 PM
Two of Planned Parenthood’s top partners have been charged with raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits derived from the sale of tissue derived from aborted fetuses.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office filed suit against DV Biologics and its sister company Da Vinci Biosciences for marking up prices and shipping fees on the sale of cells derived from "heart, lungs, kidneys, brains, intestines, skeletal muscles and bones of the aborted fetus donations."
"DV Biologics, LLC, and DaVinci Biosciences, LLC obtained aborted fetus donations from Planned Parenthood and turned those donations into a profit-driven business," the complaint filed in state superior court says. "Defendants set prices for fetal ‘products’ arbitrarily, without any attempt to comply with the law, in an effort to maximize their profits and sales."
Neither DV Biologics, nor Planned Parenthood returned request for comment.
The companies began taking donations from Planned Parenthood in 2008 and continued to partner with the nation’s top abortion provider until 2015, when Planned Parenthood ended its policy of charging fees for the body parts following a series of videos from the Center for Medical Progress.
The company doubled its 2012 revenue and "grossed in excess of $400,000" in 2013 and 2014 before topping out at more than $550,000 in 2015. It amassed an inventory valued at about $10 million in the cells extracted from the aborted babies and charged researchers prices ranging from $40 to $1,100 for each vial of cells. It also maximized revenue by charging shipping and handling prices that were double actual costs.
"DVC created dozens of different types of prenatal ‘products,’ and hundreds of individual units of each type for sale," the complaint says. "DV was able to do so with a limited number of labor hours (ranging from approximately 2-9 labor hours per ‘product’) and at very minimal costs (usually less than $20/vial)."
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that the case only focuses on how the sellers profited from the donations, rather than the practice of supplying body parts and cells obtained from abortion.
"It is against the law to intentionally sell human body parts for profit, including fetal tissue donations obtained from abortions," he said in a statement. "Fetal products were routinely sold at a 10-fold or higher mark-up over their costs … it is estimated that the companies sold hundreds of different fetal tissue products for valuable consideration in violation of the law."
DV Biologics appeared in undercover footage captured by pro-life activist David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress. The videographers spoke with Jennefer Russo, medical director at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino County, about her relationship with the company and later contacted the company about obtaining "fresh" fetal tissue.
"We have such a large catalogue of fetal tissue," a sales representative at the company said.
Daleiden said that the suit demonstrates that Planned Parenthood and its partners generated large amounts of money from the sale of baby body parts.
"The wheels of justice are beginning to turn against Planned Parenthood and their corrupt business partners in the illicit trade in aborted baby body parts," Daleiden said in a statement. "Planned Parenthood is not above the law, and law enforcement and elected representatives everywhere must now hold Planned Parenthood accountable for their barbaric profiteering."
Planned Parenthood Partners Charged for Illegal Body Part Profits - Washington Free Beacon
Companies ‘set prices … without any attempt to comply with the law’
Bill McMorris - October 13, 2016 6:00 PM
Two of Planned Parenthood’s top partners have been charged with raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits derived from the sale of tissue derived from aborted fetuses.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office filed suit against DV Biologics and its sister company Da Vinci Biosciences for marking up prices and shipping fees on the sale of cells derived from "heart, lungs, kidneys, brains, intestines, skeletal muscles and bones of the aborted fetus donations."
"DV Biologics, LLC, and DaVinci Biosciences, LLC obtained aborted fetus donations from Planned Parenthood and turned those donations into a profit-driven business," the complaint filed in state superior court says. "Defendants set prices for fetal ‘products’ arbitrarily, without any attempt to comply with the law, in an effort to maximize their profits and sales."
Neither DV Biologics, nor Planned Parenthood returned request for comment.
The companies began taking donations from Planned Parenthood in 2008 and continued to partner with the nation’s top abortion provider until 2015, when Planned Parenthood ended its policy of charging fees for the body parts following a series of videos from the Center for Medical Progress.
The company doubled its 2012 revenue and "grossed in excess of $400,000" in 2013 and 2014 before topping out at more than $550,000 in 2015. It amassed an inventory valued at about $10 million in the cells extracted from the aborted babies and charged researchers prices ranging from $40 to $1,100 for each vial of cells. It also maximized revenue by charging shipping and handling prices that were double actual costs.
"DVC created d
ozens of different types of prenatal ‘products,’ and hundreds of individual units of each type for sale," the complaint says. "DV was able to do so with a limited number of labor hours (ranging from approximately 2-9 labor hours per ‘product’) and at very minimal costs (usually less than $20/vial)."
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that the case only focuses on how the sellers profited from the donations, rather than the practice of supplying body parts and cells obtained from abortion.
"It is against the law to intentionally sell human body parts for profit, including fetal tissue donations obtained from abortions," he said in a statement. "Fetal products were routinely sold at a 10-fold or higher mark-up over their costs … it is estimated that the companies sold hundreds of different fetal tissue products for valuable consideration in violation of the law."
DV Biologics appeared in undercover footage captured by pro-life activist David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress. The videographers spoke with Jennefer Russo, medical director at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino County, about her relationship with the company and later contacted the company about obtaining "fresh" fetal tissue.
"We have such a large catalogue of fetal tissue," a sales representative at the company said.
Daleiden said that the suit demonstrates that Planned Parenthood and its partners generated large amounts of money from the sale of baby body parts.
"The wheels of justice are beginning to turn against Planned Parenthood and their corrupt business partners in the illicit trade in aborted baby body parts," Daleiden said in a statement. "Planned Parenthood is not above the law, and law enforcement and elected representatives everywhere must now hold Planned Parenthood accountable for their barbaric profiteering."