STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It is hard to overstate the ironies of this next story. It's a story about Planned Parenthood which became a huge political talking point. Undercover videos last year suggested Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue. Afterward, a Texas grand jury was set up to investigate Planned Parenthood. Now it has instead indicted the abortion opponents who made the videos. Here's NPR's Wade Goodwyn.
WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE: Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson issued a statement Monday clearing Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing after what she described as a, quote, "lengthy and thorough two-month-long investigation that involved both the Houston police and the Texas rangers." The Republican district attorney issued a statement that said in part (reading) we must go where the evidence leads us. I respect the grand jury's decision on this difficult case. The secret videotapes of Planned Parenthood's officials in Houston were made by abortion opponent David Daleiden's company, The Center for Medical Progress. Daleiden and his employee Sandra Merritt face one felony charge of tampering with a government record, which appears to relate to their alleged use of fake identification. Daleiden is also charged with attempting to purchase fetal tissue, a misdemeanor. In a statement Daleiden said, The Center for Medical Progress uses the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades and follows all applicable laws. Texas Governor Greg Abbott who requested the Houston investigation issued a statement which said nothing about today's announcement impacts the state's ongoing investigation. The state of Texas will continue to protect life. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
