Bobby Jindal Revs Up Investigation into Planned Parenthood in Louisiana

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has requested that his state’s Inspector General participate in an investigation into Planned Parenthood in the wake of the release of an undercover video that revealed the abortion giant has been engaged in the practice of harvesting aborted baby parts for sale.

According to a press release from Jindal’s office, one day after he directed his state’s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to launch an investigation into Planned Parenthood, the governor “requested Inspector General Stephen Street to initiate a joint investigation with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to determine whether Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is engaged in the illegal harvesting and trafficking of human body parts.”

The letter, from Jindal’s executive counsel Thomas L. Enright, Jr. to Street, reads:

I urgently request that you initiate a joint investigation with DHH and the FBI to determine whether Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is engaged in the illegal harvesting and trafficking of human body parts. Furthermore, Louisiana currently has five licensed outpatient abortion facilities. I request that you review the records and policies of these clinics with regards to the disposal of organs and tissues from aborted babies to determine if any of their practices violate Louisiana law and conditions of their receipt of public funds for non-abortion services. Please also determine the nature of any relationship, business or otherwise, that any of these clinics may have with StemExpress (www.stemexpress.com) or any other corporation that financially profits from harvesting and distributing aborted unborn baby body parts or is in the business of selling or donating the remains of unborn babies.

Jindal, a 2016 presidential contender, also ordered a halt to any licenses applied for by affiliate Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in its endeavor to build a new abortion facility in New Orleans.

Additionally, Louisiana’s DHH Secretary Kathy Kliebert sent a detailed letter to Melaney Linton of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast:

Our administration was shocked to learn of the allegations that some Planned Parenthood affiliates are contracting with companies to sell or transfer human body parts and organs. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has oversight over all health facilities in the state and it is our duty to ensure that any provider operating under or applying for a facility license follow all local, state and federal laws. Violating local, state or federal law would be grounds for denying a license application or revoking an existing license.

In light of the news reports and allegations surrounding Planned Parenthood, we request your organization answer some simple questions about your current operations and planned operations in Louisiana to ensure it is in compliance with Louisiana law.

Please respond to the following questions by July 24, 2015.

1. How do Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, dispose of unborn baby remains? Please provide us with details of that process.

2. Do any Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, sell or donate any unborn baby organs or body parts?

3. Do any Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, contract with companies that assist Planned Parenthood with disposing of, donating, or selling of unborn baby organs or body parts? If so, please describe exactly what these companies do with the unborn baby remains.

4. Please provide the names and addresses of any and all companies that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, contract with for the disposal, donation, or sale of unborn baby organs or body parts.

5. How many clinics operated by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, do business with StemExpress, or any other organizations in the business of selling or donating the remains of unborn babies?

6. What information do you provide to the women in Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, regarding the selling, donation, and/or disposal of their unborn baby’s body parts?

7. Please confirm that no existing Louisiana Planned Parenthood facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, offer abortion or abortion-related services, given that none of your Louisiana facilities are licensed as abortion providers.

8. How many Louisiana Planned Parenthood facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, offer pregnancy option information that directs patients to abortion clinics that do business with StemExpress, the Planned Parenthood partner that boasts about “financial profits” that come from harvesting and distributing aborted unborn baby body parts?

9. How many existing Louisiana Planned Parenthood facilities, or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof, have business ties of any kind with StemExpress, or any other organizations in the business of selling or donating the remains of unborn babies?

10. Will the New Orleans clinic for which you are planning to apply to DHH for a license have any business ties with StemExpress, or any other organizations in the business of selling or donating the remains of unborn babies?

11. Your website notes that you offer “alternative pregnancy options.” Where do you direct people interested in alternative pregnancy options? Have you verified that these facilities do not have any business ties with StemExpress or any other organizations in the business of selling or donating the remains of unborn babies?

Jindal described the video of Planned Parenthood chief medical director Dr. Deborah Nucatola describing how to abort babies so their organs and body parts could be saved for sale to biomedical companies as “shocking and gruesome.”