Gov. Scott: We Are Investigating Planned Parenthood Offices in Florida

In response to controversial undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting of tissue from aborted fetuses, Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday he has requested that the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) immediately launch an investigation into abortion procedures taking place at 16 Planned Parenthood offices in Florida to ensure they are in compliance with federal laws.

In a video released earlier this month, the medical director for a Planned Parenthood office in Denver was caught on camera discussing procedures for obtaining tissue from aborted fetuses and the associated pricing. 

Anti-abortion advocates claim the videos show employees of Planned Parenthood discussing how they plan to profit on the sale of fetus parts. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has said any distribution of fetus parts by the organization — typically for research — is with patient consent and done so not for profit. Planned Parenthood alleges that the tapes are heavily edited and that there is absolutely nothing against the law taking place. Still, the tapes are making waves, with even Hillary Clinton calling them "disturbing" and federal legislators moving to try to defund Planned Parenthood. The organization's website was down this morning, as it was hacked. The organization responded that 200,000 people a day are treated by its centers. 

In a news release sent to media Wednesday, Scott said as much and promised to get to the bottom of it. 

“The videos coming out about Planned Parenthood are deeply troubling to say the least,” said Scott in his statement. “It is against the law for any organization to sell body parts.”

Scott also said in the statement released by the governor's communication office that he has called on AHCA Secretary Liz Dudek to begin immediate dispatching of staff to evaluate the 16 Planned Parenthood offices in Florida. Scott made it clear that any office found to be guilty of these actions would face extreme consequences. 

"If a Planned Parenthood office is not following the law, we will move quickly to take legal and regulatory action against them. We hold our healthcare organizations in Florida to the highest standards of safety and we expect them to fully comply with the law at all times.”