Anti-Abortion Filmmakers’ Sting Becomes First Amendment Legal Fracas
In Texas, authorities filed criminal charges against two filmmakers who took undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood. The indictment is viewed as the latest sign that the GOP campaign against the group over the film has run into trouble.
The Washington Post:
Anti-Planned Parenthood Filmmakers To Turn Themselves In
One day after Texas authorities filed criminal charges against two antiabortion activists behind a series of undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood, the pair’s lawyer said they plan to leave California for Houston to turn themselves in. Murphy Klasing, the Houston lawyer representing Daleiden and Merritt, would not say when, exactly, the activists plan to visit the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which has issued warrants for their arrest. Both Daleiden and Merritt want to book travel plans swiftly, Klasing said. Once in Houston, he said, they will post bond and avoid jail time. (Paquette and Somashekhar, 1/26)
The Texas Tribune:
Facing Felony Charges, Anti-Abortion Group Cites Free Speech Protections
The imminent legal battle over anti-abortion activists’ efforts to infiltrate a Planned Parenthood facility in Houston is morphing into a dispute over First Amendment protections. (Ura, 1/26)
The Washington Post:
The Charges Against Anti-Planned Parenthood Filmmaker, Explained
In a surprise move, Texas authorities leveled criminal charges against the antiabortion activists behind a series of undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood, which sparked fiery debate last year nationwide and on Capitol Hill. ... Josh Schaffer, an attorney for Planned Parenthood in Houston, [explains] what it all means. (Paquette, 1/26)
The Texas Tribune:
Indictment Sheds Light On Planned Parenthood Sting
Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden, one of the videographers indicted after infiltrating a Houston Planned Parenthood facility, apparently is charged with the very crime he tried to secretly catch Planned Parenthood committing. (Ura, 1/26)
Reuters:
Anti-Abortion Activists Had Fake ID's For Filming: Texas Court Papers
Two anti-abortion campaigners who secretly filmed a Planned Parenthood official discussing fetal tissue procurement used fake driver's licenses to enter the group's offices in the Houston area, court papers released in Texas on Tuesday said. Documents filed in Harris County court showed California driver's licenses for the pair when they were making the video - Daleiden used an ID in the name of Robert David Sarkis and Merritt posed as Susan Sarah Tennenbaum. The court papers said the pair unlawfully used a fake government record "with the intent to defraud or harm others." They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (Herskovitz, 1/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
Antiabortion Group Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Faces Challenges
The antiabortion group behind undercover videos that roiled Planned Parenthood Federation of America is facing multiple legal challenges over its own practices, complicating its campaign to portray the health organization as a lawbreaker. Issues the Irvine, Calif.-based group faces include a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service by a left-leaning legal watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and litigation by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. In addition, the California attorney general’s office has said it was reviewing whether the group broke any laws. (Armour and Frosch, 1/26)
The New York Times:
Indictment Deals Blow To G.O.P. Over Planned Parenthood Battle
A grand jury’s indictment on Monday of two abortion opponents who covertly recorded Planned Parenthood officials is the latest, most startling sign that a Republican campaign against the group has run into trouble. In a dozen states including Texas, where the grand jury in Houston examined Planned Parenthood at the request of Republican officials but ended up indicting the opponents, various investigations have concluded without finding any wrongdoing by affiliates of the group. Eight states have declined to investigate since videos began surfacing in June alleging that Planned Parenthood illegally sells tissue from aborted fetuses. (Calmes, 1/26)
