WASHINGTON, DC - The House of Representatives today voted to create a select panel within the Energy and Commerce Committee for the purpose of investigating abortion practices and the handling of and policies regarding fetal tissue, its cost, and how it is obtained. The Energy and Commerce Committee, along with the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been investigating the practices of Planned Parenthood and several tissue procurement companies in the wake of a series of abhorrent videos released over the past several months.
“This is about getting answers to questions about how we treat and protect life in this country," said Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “This is a discussion that this country must have; we cannot shy away from what is an unsettling topic. The allegations raised in these disturbing and abhorrent videos have led us to ask: What have we come to in this country? This select panel will allow us to have this conversation and help us get the facts about how infant lives are being treated."
Blackburn outlined the topics this panel will investigate:
1. Medical procedures and business practices used by entities involved in fetal tissue procurement;
2. Any other matters with respect to fetal tissue procurement;
3. Federal funding and support for abortion providers;
4. The practices of providers of second and third trimester abortions, including partial birth abortion procedures that may lead to a child born alive as a result of an attempted abortion;
5. Medical procedures for the care of a child born alive as a result of an attempted abortion;
6. Any changes in law or regulation necessary as a result of any other findings made.
The Speaker of the House will appoint members to the panel.
