Judicial Watch Sues Justice Department for Records about Planned Parenthood’s Transfer of Human Fetal Tissue

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records of communications between senior officials and key members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee concerning Planned Parenthood, abortion, and the transfer of human fetal tissue (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No.1:25-cv-04497)).

Judicial Watch sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Justice Department failed to respond to May 30, 2025, FOIA requests to both the Office of Legislative Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General for all communications from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020: 

• Between officials in the Office of Legislative Affairs and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and/or the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning Planned Parenthood, abortion, and/or the transfer of human fetal tissue.
• Between then-Attorney General Bill Barr and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and/or any official on the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning Planned Parenthood, abortion, and/or the transfer of human fetal tissue.

In June 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary issued a letter to Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray, following up on Grassley’s 2016 referral of eight organizations for investigation and potential prosecution for the alleged sale of human fetal tissue and inquiring as to whether the FBI had taken any action on the criminal referrals. The FBI has never confirmed publicly whether it investigated Planned Parenthood, or if it did, what it found. 

During a September 2019 hearing at the San Francisco Superior Court, David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress provided testimony regarding his release in 2015 of 11 undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing — and in some instances displaying — the harvesting and sale of aborted fetal organs and tissue. A non-physician who performed surgical abortions for Planned Parenthood testified that she regularly provided fetal tissue from abortions and was aware of financial exchanges with StemExpress. 

In April 2020, invoices confirmed Planned Parenthood charged StemExpress $55 per “usable” organ — not simply for transport fees, as Planned Parenthood had previously claimed.

“This is a grisly business at odds with the values of most Americans, and transparency is the minimum requirement,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.

In July 2023, Judicial Watch filed two amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and its founder Daleiden, asking for review of the Ninth Circuit Court’s affirmation of a monetary award against CMP (Center for Medical Progress et al. v Planned Parent Hood et al. (22-1168)), the other asks for review of an injunction granted to the National Abortion Federation that prevents CMP from publishing more abortion-related videos (Center for Medical Progress et al. v National Abortion Federation (22-1135)).  

In April 2022 Judicial Watch obtained records revealing that the Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science Strategy and Planning in the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Jeremy Berg, contacted then-Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis Collins requesting help to combat, “efforts to undermine important science using fetal tissue.” Additionally, the records included a scientific report containing information about grafting human scalp and other tissues onto mice.

In September 2021, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) involving “humanized mice” research with human fetal heads, organs and tissue, including communications and contracts with human fetal tissue provider Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR). Most of the records are communications and related attachments between Perrin Larton, a procurement manager for ABR, and research veterinary medical officer Dr. Kristina Howard of the Food and Drug Administration.

In August 2021, Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress uncovered HHS records that revealed nearly $3 million in federal funds were spent on the University of Pittsburgh’s quest to become a “Tissue Hub” for human fetal tissue ranging from six to 42 weeks gestation.

In April 2021, Judicial Watch obtained records from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showing the agency spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to buy human fetal tissue from California-based Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR). The tissue was used in creating “humanized mice” to test “biologic drug products.”

In March 2021, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on behalf of the Center for Medical Progress for grant applications related to the use of human fetal tissue (Center for Medical Progress v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:21-cv-00642)).

 In June 2020, Judicial Watch uncovered records showing the FDA between 2012 and 2018 entered into eight contracts worth $96,370 with Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR) to acquire “fresh and never frozen” tissue from 1st and 2nd trimester aborted fetuses for use in creating “humanized mice” for ongoing research.

In February 2020, Judicial Watch received records from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showing that the agency paid thousands of dollars to a California-based firm to purchase organs from aborted human fetuses to create “humanized mice” for HIV research.

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Source: https://www.judicialwatch.org/transfer-of-human-fetal-tissue/