After the release of a second secretly recorded video discussing aborted fetal body parts, abortion rights activists are becoming increasingly concerned that the damaging footage could lead to a new ACORN scandal,
The Hill reported.
In the latest video, Mary Gatter, medical director of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, is captured allegedly
negotiating the sale price of aborted fetal specimens, as well as discussing the altering of abortion techniques to get intact specimens — an illegal practice.
The video, commissioned by The Center for Medical Progress, comes just a week after a similar one featuring Planned Parenthood's Deborah Nucatola, and one day after the organization told a congressional committee it expected several such videos to surface in coming weeks and months.
In 2009, conservatives produced undercover videos of officials at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) advising people posing as a prostitute and a pimp on how to evade tax laws. The group subsequently folded after months of negative publicity.
"We saw what happened with ACORN, and it happened so fast and it happened without enough pushback from Democrats, and our goal is to make sure that doesn't happen again," Heidi Hess, campaign manager for Credo, Planned Parenthood's largest corporate donor, told The Hill.
"It does have that feeling," California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer said when asked whether the Planned Parenthood controversy was reminiscent of the ACORN scandal. "When people come and secretly tape you, it's a pretty low form of harassment in my opinion."
Other congressional Democrats have been largely silent on the videos while defending Planned Parenthood, The Hill said.
"These politically motivated videos raise questions, but nothing I've seen indicates that Planned Parenthood violated federal law," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said at a press conference, according to The Hill, adding that the videos "should not take away from the important work Planned Parenthood does."
Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky have
pledged to defund Planned Parenthood as part of the highway legislation.
Meanwhile, at least eight states have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood, while two congressional committees have announced investigations, The Hill reported.
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