With Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf launching a review of Planned Parenthood, his own past and a recent cabinet appointment has put doubt on the integrity of the investigation.
Wolf had begun taking steps to review the clinics as a result of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal organ harvesting and distribution, The Associated Press reported Friday. Just the day prior to Wolf’s announcement, he appointed a former Planned Parenthood executive as his chief of staff. To Brandon McGinley, a director at the Pennsylvania Family Institute, the timing is troubling.
“It raises questions of the integrity of the investigation,” McGinley told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “At the very least its tone deaf.”
Before joining his cabinet, Mary Isenhour served on the board for Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania. The recent appointment, however, is not the only connection Wolf has to the group. The governor also used to be a Clinic Escort for the organization. In the position Wolf helped to guide patients and staff into and out facilities where abortions are performed.
The governor has also been a very vocal defender of the group. His strong stance in support of Planned Parenthood earned him praise from the state chapter during his campaign.
“Given his past and the recent appointment, we need to take whatever comes out of his office with a grain of salt,” McGinley noted.
In the last month, Planned Parenthood has became the focus on renewed criticism. Much of the attention stems from a video released on July 14 which showed a Planned Parenthood employee casually discussing, over a salad, how the organization harvest fetus organs after an abortion.
“We’ve been very good at getting lung, heart, liver,” Dr. Deborah Nucatola, a senior director for Planned Parenthood, said in the video. “I’m going to basically crush below, I’m going to crush above and I’m going to see if I can get it all intact.”
The footage was obtained by the Center for Medical Progress as part of a 3-year investigative effort. Nucatola talked to undercover actors she thought were buyers from a human biologics company.
“Despite all the signs I want to hold out hope,” McGinley concluded. “We are happy to see an investigation.”
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from TheDCNF.
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