2 senators join call to audit U.S.-backed fetal tissue work

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton on Tuesday called for a full audit of all fetal tissue research supported by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Arkansas Republicans joined more than 30 Republican senators in a letter asking the agency's inspector general to determine whether there have been violations of the law and how the agency verifies the law is being followed.

The letter was spurred by the actions of the conservative anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, which has released edited clips of conversations with Planned Parenthood executives, doctors and staff members talking about how much money the organization would receive for providing various body parts for medical research.

"The videos not only raise questions about Planned Parenthood's compliance with applicable laws and regulations, but also highlight potentially significant problems with [the agency's] oversight of practices in this market in general," the letter states.

Planned Parenthood has said it donates fetal remains only if the mother requests it and that it follows federal law, which bans the sale of human tissue for profit. While the organization gets reimbursed for the cost of shipping the tissue, it doesn't make money from it, the organization has said.

Susan Allen, spokesman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the parent organization for Arkansas' two locations, has said Arkansas does not participate in the tissue program.

In July, Planned Parenthood asked the National Institutes of Health to convene a panel of independent experts to study concerns regarding the use of fetal tissue for medical research, according to The Associated Press.

Metro on 10/07/2015

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