The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that it is launching an investigation into the way grants are awarded to perform fetal tissue research, including whether any verification is done to ensure compliance with federal laws. This comes after Ted Cruz and 34 other Senators sent a letter to HHS in October asking for an investigation, and after The Stream filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request with HHS for records related to grants awarded to Planned Parenthood, and broke the story that the government has performed no audits of them since 2007.

These inquiries were sparked by the release of ten undercover videos by The Center for Medical Progress, which appear to reveal massive wrongdoing in the harvesting of fetuses by Planned Parenthood and its partner organizations

The Stream published the records from HHS and questioned why no audits had been performed in years, considering — as we argued — that organizations such as Planned Parenthood might be committing felonies.

Under federal law, HHS is required to audit fetal research grants if they involve transplantation into another human. Considering the volume of abortions Planned Parenthood performs, and how many fetuses it then transfers to biomedical research companies, it is highly likely at least some of those fetuses are transplanted to treat liver disease and diabetes, and for bone marrow transplants, thus triggering the need for audits.

It remains to be seen how vigorously the GOP Senators will pursue the issue. Many, no doubt, have long suspected that Planned Parenthood has been violating federal law with the help of complicit government officials. For defenders of life and the rule of law, it is vital that HHS get to the bottom of this and identify who is responsible for the lack of oversight and take appropriate measures. This would include revising the grant monitoring procedures and prosecuting any wrongdoers.

In the meantime, The Stream is pursuing additional HHS documents through follow-up FOIA requests and will release additional findings on the scandal as new information becomes available.