Justice Department opens Planned Parenthood investigation

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Justice Department has launched a federal inquiry into Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. On Thursday, Stephen Boyd, assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, confirmed the probe in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee requesting unredacted documents from its investigation into abortion providers. The committee investigated Planned Parenthood’s sale of fetal tissue last year and recommended the FBI investigate. “At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only,” Boyd wrote. Any formal legal proceedings likely would need a Senate resolution to use the documents in court, he added. The use of aborted babies for medical research is legal under certain restrictions. Body parts cannot be sold at a profit—sales should only cover operating costs. The Senate Judiciary Committee started looking into Planned Parenthood and others in the fetal tissue procurement industry after undercover videos taken by the pro-life Center for Medical Progress showed discussions of widespread profiting. The videos also prompted the formation of a select investigative panel under the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. That investigation also recommended the FBI look into Planned Parenthood’s sale of fetal tissue.