"In their single-minded drive to attack Planned Parenthood, they [Center for Medical Progress] lied, they broke the law and they put health care access for millions of Americans at risk," Planned Parenthood stated. "Now, we're taking them to court to hold them accountable."
Following the release of the series of videos in 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General launched an investigation into the Center for Medical Progress’ allegations as did authorities in several US states.
The videos ignited a fierce debate in Congress over whether taxpayer money should be provided to Planned Parenthood given that its executives and doctors were shown allegedly discussing fetal tissue and organ harvesting and trade. The US House of Representatives moved to pass a bill to defund Planned Parenthood but the effort was defeated.
Planned Parenthood receives some $500 million annually in financial support from the US government and performs or supports more than 300,000 abortions per year.