Mass. Rep. Outraged Over Planned Parenthood Controversy

Massachusetts Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover) was so angered when he learned of Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue donation program, he immediately wrote to Attorney General Maura Healey asking her to investigate.

Lyons wanted to find out if any Planned Parenthood affiliates in Massachusetts might have violated the law based on videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group that shows Planned Parenthood officials in Los Angeles discussing how the group gets organs from aborted fetuses for research.

"My reaction is one of outrage, as everyone else is, about the horrific activities that apparently are being exposed on a national level," said Lyons.

Attorney General Maura Healey called for an immediately review.

"Planned Parenthood's fully compliant with all state and federal laws," she concluded. "No violations here."

Planned Parenthood Massachusetts says it does not even have a donation program, but that the states that do donate the tissue to leading research institutions to find cures for diseases like Parkinson's and Alzeheimer's.

"These tapes are heavily doctored, and the full tapes show that charges that Planned Parenthood profits from women's decisions to donate fetal tissue are false and outrageous," Planned Parenthood Massachusetts said in a statement.

But Lyons still wants to know more about what he read in the video transcripts that refer to Massachusetts as 'being huge."

"The other area that we're concerned about is what type of consent form, what are the forms that are being reviewed?" said Lyons.

"This is a group with an agenda, that really seeks to find ways to limit women's access to reproductive health care and to fund, on the federal level, organizations like Planned Parenthood," said Healey. "That's what's really going on behind the scenes here."

All this comes as Senate Republicans work to defund Planned Parenthood and as the organization deals with a hacker attack forcing it to take down its website.

Contact Us