Review of fetal tissue research sought

Under fire, Planned Parenthood wants issues studied.

Under fire for its role in providing fetal tissue for research, Planned Parenthood asked the government’s top health scientists Wednesday to gather independent experts to study the issues surrounding the little-known branch of medicine.

Planned Parenthood’s request to the National Institutes of Health came as Senate Republicans pressed their fight to bar the organization from receiving federal aid. Likely opposition from at least one GOP senator highlighted the long odds the GOP will face in any Senate showdown vote.

Planned Parenthood, which gets more than $500 million of its $1.3 billion annual budget from federal and state programs, has faced criticism since the release of videos showing officials discussing how they obtain organs from aborted fetuses for research. The videos were furtively recorded by an anti-abortion group.

“The inflammatory and misleading videos have pushed this issue in- to the national spotlight,” said the letter from Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. “And a thoughtful, careful review by leading medical and ethical experts could do a lot to help the public and policymakers think through this issue and reach informed conclusions.”

Anti-abortion groups and many Republican lawmakers have said it is morally wrong for the group to obtain fetal organs for research, and some have accused it of selling the tissue for prof- it, which would be illegal.

Planned Parenthood says it abides by a law that allows providers to be reimbursed for costs of the procedures, does it in fewer than five states, and gives the tissue to researchers only with the mother’s consent.