Media Matters Accidentally Highlights Planned Parenthood’s Admission of Profit Seeking on Organ Harvesting

Media Matters, the progressive media watchdog, published a defense of Planned Parenthood Tuesday night. Unfortunately for Planned Parenthood, the evidence they offer proves Planned Parenthood’s clinics were intentionally seeking to profit from the harvesting and sale of fetal organs.

In its defense of Planned Parenthood, Media Matters points to a portion of the complete video which did not appear in the 9 minute clip circulated Tuesday [Emphasis added].

NUCATOLA: You know, I’m — I could throw a number out that’s anywhere from $30 to $100 depending on the facility, and what’s involved. It just has to do with space issues, are you sending someone there that’s going to be doing everything, or is their staff going to be doing it? What exactly are they going to be doing? Is there shipping involved, is somebody coming to pick it up — so, I think everybody just wants to — it’s really just about if anyone were ever to ask them, well what do you do for this $60, how can you justify that? Or are you basically just doing something completely egregious, that you should be doing for free. So it just needs to be justifiable.

And, look, we have 67 affiliates. They all have different practice environments, very different staff, and so with that number —

ACTOR: Did you say 67?

NUCATOLA: 67.

ACTOR: Okay. And so of that number, how much would personality of the personnel in there, would play into it as far as how we’re speaking to them —

NUCATOLA: I think for affiliates, at the end of the day, they’re a non-profit, they just don’t want to — they want to break even. And if they can do a little better than break even, and do so in a way that seems reasonable, they’re happy to do that. Really their bottom line is, they just, they want to break even. Every penny they save is just pennies they give to another patient. To provide a service the patient wouldn’t get otherwise.

Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services, is not dumb. Several times during the discussion she makes clear that Planned Parenthood is going only as far as their lawyers will them. That’s true with regard to their approach to partial-birth abortion (where they claim they don’t intend to cross the legal line, regardless of what actually happens) and it’s true of their refusal to offer companies a “menu” of organs available for sale (because their attorneys are nervous about them becoming the public face of this trade). So here again, Dr. Nucatola makes clear the line for Planned Parenthood is what will appear reasonable “if anyone were ever to ask them.” Now that this story has become news, perhaps someone will.

Just a few seconds later, Dr. Nucatola makes clear Planned Parenthood isn’t just covering their costs in these transactions. She says her affiliates are happy to “do a little better than break even” when possible. Obviously, when you do better than break even in a financial transaction, that’s called a profit. This is an admission that PP is profiting from these sales.

Again, Dr. Nucatola is being somewhat careful here because she knows where the legal line prevents her from going. Planned Parenthood can’t go wild with its organ prices, but if they can make a little on the side selling organs in a way that “seems reasonable,” then “they’re happy to do that.”

Contrary to what Media Matters seems to believe, this excerpt does not help Planned Parenthood’s case. Having the corporation’s Director of Medical Services explain how they skirt the law by keeping profits small enough to pass muster in case “anyone were ever to ask” seems like an admission that could hurt them.