Why isn't the Obama administration auditing Planned Parenthood?

Under the Public Health and Service Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should audit Planned Parenthood because of its involvement in fetal research. But those audits are not happening, according to an investigation conducted by online news website The Stream.

Planned Parenthood has been involved in fetal research for more than a decade by providing parts of aborted babies to tissue procurement companies like StemTech, who sell the tissue for research. These tissue exchanges sparked a public debate after the Center for Medical Progress released a series of videos alleging the abortion giant makes a profit from tissue sales, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines.

In one of CMP’s undercover videos, abortionist Savita Ginde, vice president and medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, tells actors posing as tissue buyers that Planned Parenthood affiliates categorize tissue sales as “research.” The Public Health Service Act requires annual reports from entities supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH) “describing research involving therapeutic transplantation of human fetal tissue.”

In July, The Stream filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents and emails related to Planned Parenthood and the audits.

The Stream received redacted emails and letters from HHS to Congress stating the NIH hadn’t been involved in any therapeutic fetal tissue transplants. According to the letter, NIH hadn’t provided “any financial support for human fetal tissue transplantation research” since 2007.

“If this is accurate, what about all the harvesting of fetal body parts that Planned Parenthood itself categorizes as research?” Rachel Alexander, senior editor for The Stream, wrote. “HHS provides Planned Parenthood with the majority of its federal funding, and has continued to do so up to the present.”

Planned Parenthood receives more than $500 million in federal funding each year. And according to the Conservative Review, HHS gave Planned Parenthood 268 grants in the 2014 fiscal year that totaled more than $103 million. HHS gave the grants directly to regional affiliates for “family planning” and other services like HIV prevention.

On Oct. 6, 35 senators sent a letter to HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson requesting a full audit of all fetal research to determine compliance with laws and to clarify how HHS verifies compliance.

“The Planned Parenthood videos recently released by the Center for Medical Progress raise serious concerns about potential violations of federal law prohibiting the transfer of fetal tissue for valuable consideration,” the senators wrote. “The videos not only raise questions about Planned Parenthood’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations, but also highlight potentially significant problems with HHS’s oversight of practices in this market in general.”

The senators specifically noted an August 2015 letter from HHS stating it hasn’t funded or conducted research on fetal tissue transplants in “recent years.” The senators requested clarification on third parties that conducted research with HHS funding.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to create a panel to investigate Planned Parenthood itself. Though Democrats call the investigation pointless, Republicans say it’s necessary.

“Even if these abortion providers somehow manage to comply with all federal laws while dismembering children, it’s clear we need to learn more about their barbaric tactics,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

And pro-lifers continue to work toward stripping Planned Parenthood of its federal funding entirely. Though the two most recent attempts have failed, a coalition of 38 pro-life leaders voiced their support for defunding Planned Parenthood through a legislative process called reconciliation, designed to prevent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

“Over 1 million abortions are performed annually in the United States, with nearly 330,000 occurring in Planned Parenthood facilities,” the coalition said in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget committees. “Tax dollars would be put to better use at local community health centers, which provide all the same health services Planned Parenthood does (and usually more), but do not abort the lives of unborn children and callously harvest their body parts for profit.”