Also, the University of New Mexico established a relationship with a nearby abortion clinic that could have violated federal and state laws, the panel alleged.
The clinic, Southwestern Women's Options, was said to provide fetal tissue to the university for research as students and fellows performed abortions at the clinic. Clinic abortionists were reportedly given "volunteer faculty" status at the university where they benefited from things like insurance coverage and access to school facilities yet did not have to teach classes.
This was "giving their relationship the components of an exchange of fetal tissue for valuable consideration," the report stated.
Also, "the close relationship" enabled various alleged abuses to occur, like "allegations of shoddy clinical practices, including failure to utilize a consent form for fetal tissue donation and improperly combining consent for tissue donation with consent for the underlying abortion procedure," the report noted.
Other abuses the panel alleged had to do with clinics and tissue harvesters illegally profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. In one case, a Planned Parenthood clinic and the tissue procurement company claimed the same expenses in tissue transactions, although only one party seemingly would be able to claim the operating costs so as not to illegally profit from the transaction.
Planned Parenthood for America officials also admitted to not following the organization's own internal procedures on fetal tissue transactions, and on abortionists affirming they had not illegally altered the abortion procedure for harvesters to more easily obtain intact tissue.
Also on Wednesday, the pro-life research group Charlotte Lozier Institute and the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom released a report of their own relying on dozens of audits of Planned Parenthood clinics and state family planning programs.
The report alleged "waste, fraud, and abuse" in Planned Parenthood's participation in Medicaid billing, resulting in clinics over-billing over $130 million in Medicaid and other public health funding.
Rep. Blackburn concluded her time as the panel's chair by thanking her fellow pro-life members. "It was an honor to Chair the Select Investigative Panel. I want to thank my colleagues who are strong pro-life leaders and have worked tirelessly over the past year," she said Wednesday.
Other panel members insisted that the report's recommendations – like ensuring that informed consent is obtained before tissue procurement and that privacy of medical information is respected – should be followed. Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) stated that "we must protect the unborn, and every citizen's God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
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.