Planned Parenthood of Delaware questioned

Two Sussex County legislators have questioned Planned Parenthood of Delaware after a series of recent undercover videos shot in California brought up the issue of tissue donation. However, state and Planned Parenthood officials say there is no tissue donation program in Delaware.

“There is no tissue donation program at Planned Parenthood to investigate,” said Karyl Rattay, director of the Division of Public Health in response to Delaware legislators questions. “There are no active investigations at this time.”

Amelia Auner, vice president of operations for Planned Parenthood of Delaware, said the Delaware group does not participate in a tissue donor program.

“We don't, and it's not something we're considering,” she said.

Auner said she does not know how tissue donation programs work elsewhere in the country, but the Planned Parenthood groups involved are following all state and federal laws.

Six videos were recently released by pro-life Center for Medical Progress in which two undercover workers posed as researchers who wanted fetal tissue for research purposes. They met with employees of Planned Parenthood clinics in California and filmed them, without their knowledge, while they openly discussed costs to handle and package fetal tissue for research groups. Their candid discussion has led to outrage among pro-life groups, and even resulted in a candidate question during the first Republican debate.

Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, said following the release of the videos constituents began asking how Planned Parenthood operates in Delaware.

“It's certainly a nationwide issue now,” he said. “We asked questions as part of a fact-finding mission of women's healthcare in Delaware.”

Simpson, the Senate minority leader, and Rep. Dan Short, R-Seaford, the House minority leader, submitted a letter Aug. 5 to Delaware Health and Social Services officials questioning how Planned Parenthood of Delaware operates.

“As the stewards of taxpayer money, our goal is to gather information about Planned Parenthood of Delaware, an organization that receives part of its funding from the state,” the letter states.

The letter specifically asks Rattay and Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, whether Planned Parenthood of Delaware harvests or sells body parts or tissue from abortions performed at any Delaware facilities. Simpson said Ratty responded to him by email Aug. 13.

In her response to legislators, Ratty said tissue donation in Delaware is regulated by state law under Title 16 regarding health and safety. Chapter 27 of the title covers anatomical gifts and studies and requires nonprofit hospitals, accredited university or research institutions or other accredited researchers to register with the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline before it obtains dead bodies for anatomical study. There is no mention of stem cell research in the statute.

Research companies are permitted under federal law to use fetal tissue for stem cell research that includes finding cures for cancer and Parkinson's disease among others.

“Stem cell research is extremely important,” Auner said.

Rattay said Planned Parenthood is regulated by the two state divisions: Division of Public Health and the Division of Professional Regulation. The Division of Public Health ensures that standard of care is met at healthcare facilities and the facilities are safe and clean. The Division of Professional Regulation makes sure clinic personnel are licensed and DPR investigates complaints of unprofessional conduct.

“DPH and DPR work very closely together and may visit a facility together to conduct an inspection, review medical records, interview personnel, examine equipment, and medication, etc.,” Rattay said in her response.

State law also requires accreditation from a state-approved organization for facilities that provide abortions, she said.

There are three Planned Parenthood clinics in Delaware: Dover, Wilmington and Newark. Abortions are only performed only in Dover and Wilmington, Auner said. There is no Planned Parenthood clinic in Sussex County. A clinic in the Midway Shopping Center on Route 1 closed in 2011 because the number of patients dwindled, Auner said.

“It was a tough decision on our part,” she said.

Andrea Wojick, chief of community relations for DPH's Office of Health Risk Communication, said Sussex County has nine women's reproductive healthcare clinics receiving federal and state funds.

Planned Parenthood gets $185,225 in contracts from DHSS for women's reproductive health services. Another $30,000 in grant-in-aid funds was issued for fiscal year 2016, she said. Planned Parenthood receives another $160,000 in Title X - federal funding earmarked for women's reproductive healthcare - and nearly $100,000 from Medicaid, said Rattay.

Simpson said it appears Planned Parenthood of Delaware is operating within the law.

“In light of these very serious allegations we, as elected officials, needed to make sure that Planned Parenthood of Delaware, an organization that receives state funding, is complying with all applicable law,” he said. “We only ask that our state’s top health leaders continually monitor Planned Parenthood of Delaware to ensure they are following all state and federal laws.”