House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation into the group behind two undercover videos featuring top Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue donations.
"Let's have an investigation of those people who were trying to ensnare Planned Parenthood in a controversy which doesn't exist," Pelosi told reporters Thursday.
She was referring to the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group that has released the first two of a series of videos that has raised questions about Planned Parenthood's involvement in collecting aborted fetal body parts for medical research.
Planned Parenthood says it doesn't profit from the organs and tissue — which would be illegal — but the footage shows one official appearing to haggle over the price with actors posing as buyers for a fake human tissue company. The officials also appear to suggest some doctors change how they perform abortions to keep certain organs intact.
Republicans are investigating Planned Parenthood, but Democrats are now trying to shift attention to the Center for Medical Progress, with four House Democrats calling Wednesday for a probe into that group instead.
Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Zoe Lofgren, Jerrold Nadler and Yvette Clarke wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and California Attorney General Kamala Harris, asking them to probe into whether the Center for Medical Progress broke any laws by misrepresenting to Planned Parenthood officials who they really were.
Pelosi also noted Thursday that Planned Parenthood has defended itself by saying it receives compensation only for the costs of collecting and transporting aborted fetuses. "They did not charge for fetal tissue, they have only defrayed the cost of mailing that to someone, which is not breaking the law," she said.
And she defended Planned Parenthood, noting that the group doesn't provide just abortions but also preventive health screenings for women. Ten percent of Planned Parenthood patients receive abortions, while the rest visit clinics for healthcare services.
"Planned Parenthood has as its top priority women's health, that's what they've always been about," Pelosi said. "Women's health does include reproductive health, but it's about breast cancer, cervical cancer testing and services to women."