The GOP obsession with shutting down Planned Parenthood is now threatening to stymie research into cures for diseases like Parkinson's and the Zika virus. Researchers who study those illnesses rely on fetal tissue and they fear the House GOP's investigation into how they acquire the tissue will unleash volatile anti-abortion forces on both them and the research. Gardiner Harris reports:
A special House committee empaneled to investigate fetal tissue research is preparing to issue 17 subpoenas to medical supply companies and laboratories, seeking the names of researchers, graduate students, laboratory technicians and administrative personnel — and prompting charges of intimidation.
Abortion rights advocates and some university officials say the House investigation into how some of the nation’s most prestigious universities acquire fetal tissue threatens to endanger the lives of scientists, doctors and their staff members. The new subpoenas will only escalate a battle that some researchers fear could shut down studies seeking cures for Parkinson’s disease, the Zika virus and other illnesses.
Let's face it, they have every right to be scared. But that's not stopping GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn's crusade to end abortion—she's doing everything in her power to shut down research on fetal tissue, which she mistakenly calls "baby body parts."
“We are going to review the business practices of these procurement organizations and do some investigating of how they have constructed a for-profit business model from selling baby body parts,” Ms. Blackburn said in an interview.
Remember the last anti-abortion activist who made headlines while mumbling about “baby parts?” Yeah, that’s the guy—Robert Lewis Dear Jr.—the one who shot up a Colorado Planned Parenthood, fatally wounding three people and injuring nine others. He may actually be mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Nice word choice, Rep. Blackburn.