A federal court requested the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) release more information pertaining to the purchase of organs harvested from aborted human fetuses, according to a Monday Judicial Watch press release.
“Documents previously uncovered in this lawsuit show that the federal government demanded the purchased fetal organs be ‘fresh and never frozen,'” the Judicial Watch press release said.
The Federal court decision said that Advanced Biosciences Resources (ABR) “sold second-trimester livers and thymi for hundreds of dollars apiece. The same for brains, eyes, and lungs. After tacking on fees for services like shipping and cleaning, ABR could collect over $2,000 on a single fetus it purchased from Planned Parenthood for $60. The federal government participated in this potentially illicit trade for years,” according to the press release.
The court wondered if the alleged transactions between ABR and Planned Parenthood were legal, the press release stated.
The court order comes after Judicial Watch initially filed a lawsuit in March 2019 after HHS did not respond adequately to a September 2018 Freedom of Information Act request.
BREAKING: Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to release of additional information about its purchases of organs harvested from aborted human fetuses (1/3). https://t.co/TOaGe2ti5w
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) March 15, 2021
“This court victory will shed additional light on the federal government’s barbaric practice of purchasing organs of aborted human beings,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, according to the press release. “The American people deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent on this grotesque and potentially illegal activity.” (RELATED: Arkansas Governor Signs Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions Into Law)
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ruled in Judicial Watch’s favor and ordered HHS to disclose “any currently withheld names and addresses of ABR’s contract laboratories.”
McFadden ordered HHS to disclose all redacted pricing information for “fetal tissue, shipping or other fees and services relating to the 2013-2015 years,” according to the press release. He also asked HHS to reveal any redacted “per specimen” pricing details specifically for second-trimester fetal tissue between 2016-2018, the press release stated.