Video: Planned Parenthood Exec Talks Compensation for Aborted Baby Parts

A new undercover video shows a Planned Parenthood medical director discussing with an undercover investigator (posing as a representative of a fetal tissue procurement company) about the appropriate compensation her facility should expect for procuring tissue from aborted infants.

The edited eight minute video primarily features Dr. Mary Gatter, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Medical Director’s Council. It is the second video in a series of undercover videos taken by the Center for Medical Progress, which posed as Biomax Procurement Services. The National Catholic Register has already reported on the first video: Is Planned Parenthood’s Fetal-Parts Trade Legal?

The full footage of the hour long lunch meeting is accompanied by a full transcript, which provides further statements and context not provided in the edited video.

Dr. Gatter is the medical services director at Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley, and was formerly at the Planned Parenthood Los Angeles affiliate. Early in the conversation, she mentions that “every California affiliate is paired up in a tissue donation program, except for Pasadena.”

In the exchange, Dr. Gatter is asked “What would you expect for intact tissue?” and she responds by asking, “Why don’t you start by telling me what you’re used to paying?”

She adds that "in negotiations the person who throws out the figure first is at a loss, right?"

Dr. Gatter expresses a concern about offering a lowball estimate for compensation. In the course of the conversation, she mentions her Pasadena Planned Parenthood affiliate is not involved in tissue procurement. One of the reasons appears to be that their volume of abortions is low compared to other PPFA affiliates involved in fetal tissue procurement.

When pressed for a figure, Dr. Gatter offers “$75 a specimen.” When the alleged buyer acts surprised, Gatter says she has worked in places that did the same thing for $50.

She states "We’re not in it for the money, and we don’t want to be in a position of being accused of selling tissue, and stuff like that. On the other hand, there are costs associated with the use of our space, and that kind of stuff.”

Federal law does not prohibit tissue donations and allows fetal tissue donation — either from induced abortion, spontaneous miscarriage or stillbirth — with “reasonable payments” for the “transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control or storage of human fetal tissue.”

She appears to accept an initial offer of $100. But as the three hour conversation wraps up, Dr. Gatter says she wants to consult with the other PPFA affiliates in California to see what they are charging.

“It’s been years since I talked about compensation, so let me just figure out what others are getting, if this is in the ballpark, it’s fine, if it’s still low then we can bump it up,” Dr. Gatter says, adding as a joke, “I want a Lamborghini.”

 

Full Context Lacking in Edited Video

The full transcript shows important context largely missing from the edited video, much of which has to do with legal questions and accountability to PPFA when it comes to procuring fetal tissue from aborted babies for scientific research.

On the issue of compensation, Dr. Gatter explains that “Heather” a person from Novogenix made things very simple for them at Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles “so logistically it was very easy for us, we didn’t have to do anything.”

But compensation was still involved: “There was compensation for this, and there was discussion if that was legal, they have been paying by the case…”

At one point, the buyer suggests compensating Dr. Gatter for changing the technique in order to procure better specimens of tissue from the aborted child. However, Gatter appears to recognize this is clearly illegal and refuses: “Well, now you’re shading into the area of you’re paying me to do something that’s not right. So [laughs] that’s not what I want to talk about!”

She does appear to consider having the affiliate’s abortionist change the technique — using manual suction instead of the usual machine suction — in order to procure more intact samples for tissue collection. She says both are acceptable and have no difference in pain.

"I don't think the patients would care one iota, so yeah, I'm not making a fuss about that."

However, Gatter mentions there are arguments that they have to make no changes to the usual procedure if they are going to do fetal tissue donation. She states she will consult and defer to the abortionist on staff, and ask him how he “feels about using a ‘less crunchy’ technique to get more whole specimens.”

She also mentions that they will have to request PPFA for a waiver to do fetal tissue donation and “lay out for them what our program’s gonna be like,” she said.

“And it’s absolutely a requirement that we use only the official, federal government form for tissue donation, that we don’t modify it in any way.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Dr. Gatter states that when she was at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, more than 60% of women coming for abortions would sign the federal consent forms for fetal tissue donation. She mentions that “every California affiliate is paired up in a tissue donation program, except for Pasadena.”

The conversation concludes with a discussion about driving with siblings in Australia, their children heading off to college, getting married and having children of their own.
 

The edited CMP video is here

The full CMP video is here

The National Catholic Register's story on the first CMP video: Is Planned Parenthood’s Fetal-Parts Trade Legal?