The affadavit also alleged that Daleiden and Merritt set up a tissue procurement company of their own – BioMax Procurement Services, LLC – and used false names to "pose" as representatives of the company and to be admitted to a National Abortion Federation conference in San Francisco, "where they secretly video recorded conference speakers, vendors, and attendees."
On Wednesday, the San Francisco Superior Court dismissed the 14 recording charges, but the charge for conspiracy to invade privacy has not yet been dropped.
Beccerra, a former Democratic congressman, had previously received small donations from Planned Parenthood as a candidate for Congress amounting to around $6,000 over the last 20 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
"Sandra did not break any law and the criminal complaint against her is legally deficient, vague and full of inconsistencies," Horatio Mihet, Liberty Counsel's vice president of legal affairs and chief litigation counsel, stated.
"No other citizen journalist or organization has ever been charged with a crime for undercover recordings," he added.
After Center for Medical Progress began releasing its recorded conversations with officials at Planned Parenthood and tissue procurement companies, Congress and several states launched investigations into Planned Parenthood to find out whether it broke the law in the fetal tissue trade.
A final report from a House select investigative panel released in January detailed various abuses in the abortion industry in the fetal body parts trade.
Consent forms required by law were not obtained from mothers to have the fetal tissue of their aborted child used for research. Private medical information may have been shared between abortion clinics and tissue procurement companies in a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
In another case, the University of New Mexico established a possibly illegal relationship with a local abortion clinic where students and fellows performed abortions at the clinic and the clinic's abortionists were reportedly granted "volunteer faculty" status at the university where they received benefits like insurance coverage and access to university facilities.
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.