UPDATE: Trump Accepts Hamas' Claims of Cooperation on Gaza Peace Plan
Hamas Just Made a Major Announcement on the Gaza War, But Will They...
Justice Kavanaugh's Would-Be Assassin Gets Light Sentence Because of His Trans Identity
Britain's Soft-on-Crime Policies Allowed the Manchester Synagogue Terror Attack to Happen
'This Is a Big Day:' President Trump Speaks About Hamas Agreement to Release...
Sen. Josh Hawley Says He's 'Baffled' by FDA's Approval of Another Abortion Drug
Hollywood Hates Censorship but Won't Act, The Atlantic Idiotically Compares Charlie Kirk t...
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood Says She's 'Surprised' by Name of Manchester Synagogue...
Broadview Police Chief Ready to Tear Down Fence Around ICE Facility
Equity: Zohran Mamdani Will Eliminate Gifted Programs From NYC Schools
U.S. Forces Strike Another Drug Trafficking Vessel Off the Coast of Venezuela
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced to 4 Years, 2 Months for Prostitution-Related Crimes
Illegal Alien with 30-Year Rap Sheet Ran Iowa School District
WATCH: Tim Walz Explains 2024 Loss With Wild Debate Excuse
Cancel Netflix: Conservative Leaders Call Out Alleged Radical Agenda
Tipsheet

Supreme Court Declines Pro-life Group's Appeal in Undercover Video Case

AP Photo/Bob Levey

The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal Monday from the pro-life group, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The group petitioned the court after a lower court’s refusal to dismiss charges brought against them in a civil lawsuit by Planned Parenthood alleging fraud, invasion of privacy, and trespassing.

Advertisement

CMP president David Daleiden attempted to have Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit dismissed on First Amendment grounds arguing that his group was engaging in investigative journalism. He argued that the abortion group’s lawsuit violated California’s anti-SLAPP statute which is meant to prevent frivolous lawsuits that affect the free speech of citizen journalists.

The Center for Medical Progress was behind a series of undercover videos which exposed Planned Parenthood employees discussing trafficking in fetal remains. The group posed as a fetal tissue-procurement company in the videos. When the footage was initially released in 2015, even then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called it “disturbing.”

The nation’s largest abortion provider denied wrongdoing but CMP’s videos did lead to Planned Parenthood ending their practice of receiving reimbursement for fetal tissue donation.

The justices’ refusal to take up the case leaves in place the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling allowing the case against the group to proceed.

Advertisement

Despite the addition of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court has seemed wary of taking up abortion-related cases.

Justice Clarence Thomas implied in December that the high court’s decision to reject an appeal from states trying to defund Planned Parenthood had to do with a desire to avoid the politically polarizing issue of abortion.

"What explains the court’s refusal to do its job here?" he wrote. "I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named 'Planned Parenthood.' That makes the court’s decision particularly troubling, as the question presented has nothing to do with abortion."

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos