PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA – Moments ago, a jury of ten issued adverse verdicts in a Federal civil suit brought by Planned Parenthood against five pro-life activists who exposed its participation in the illegal trafficking of aborted baby remains. 

Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, was found liable for $870,000 in damages for his service as a founding board member of the Center for Medical Progress.  Civil counts against him included conspiracy, fraud, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Newman maintains that his participation in the undercover journalistic project was completely legal and that he engaged in no wrongdoing. He vows to appeal the verdicts.

“I want to thank my legal team from the American Center for Law and Justice for their hard work defending me in this lengthy, complex, and difficult case, and look forward to a better outcome in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has become more conservative thanks to new appointments made by President Trump,” said Newman.

Planned Parenthood lodged the punitive lawsuit against Newman, Sandra Merritt, David Daleiden, Albin Rhomberg, and Adrian Lopez after the release of a series of CMP videos, which documented Planned Parenthood executives admitting they sold aborted baby remains for profit, committed battery on women by illegally altering abortion procedures to ensure intact organs that would bring the most money, and harvested still-beating hearts from the bodies of babies born alive during abortions.

The jury was never allowed to view more than a few moments of video, which may have made a tremendous difference in the outcome of this case. 

View the first CMP video released, featuring Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s now-former Medical Director, Deborah Nucatola.