After Exposing Planned Parenthood's Illegal Trade of Aborted Baby Parts in 2015, Sandra Merritt Is Set to Go to Criminal Trial in 2024
“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.” — Thomas Jefferson
In all of California’s history, not a single undercover journalist has been prosecuted for their work … that is, until Sandra Merritt. If the court does not grant the motion to dismiss the case, Sandra Merritt will be put on criminal trial in the Superior Court of San Francisco next March for her undercover journalism work exposing Planned Parenthood’s trade in baby body parts. A courageous pro-life grandmother, Sandra, and her co-defendant, David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, are both charged with crimes for their undercover recordings made in the public interest.
After nearly a decade of litigation, Sandra is facing eight felony charges, knocked down from the original 15, brought against her by then California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood. Interestingly, the witch hunt targeting Sandra was not initiated by Becerra, but by Becerra’s predecessor, now Vice President Kamala Harris. In a blatant conflict of interest, records show that Harris had taken in $81,215 in campaign donations from the abortion industry. No doubt the donors perceived the financial support as a good faith investment for a future quid pro quo when Harris would be in a position to misuse her authority and shut down those who expose abuses in the abortion industry. As demonstrated, the weight of the evidence shows that the prosecution against Sandra is politically motivated, selective, and discriminatory.
When Heroes Are Tried as Criminals
While Sandra should be celebrated for her courageous undercover journalism work exposing the embedded corruption of the profitable, illegal aborted fetal parts trade, instead, she is being tried as a criminal.
The vicious two-front attack launched against Sandra Merritt includes the criminal indictment that could put her behind bars for more than a decade and a Planned Parenthood civil lawsuit seeking to extract millions from her. On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied, without comment, to review the civil case and Sandra could be liable for $16 million in punitive damages.
Each of the Planned Parenthood organizations featured in undercover video recordings released by the Center for Medical Progress clearly indicate the illegal trafficking of aborted baby body parts for profit to three organ procurement organizations, including StemExpress LLC, Advanced Bioscience Resources Inc., and Novogenix Laboratories LLC.
Sandra Merritt’s undercover videos exposed some Planned Parenthood affiliates performing unlawful abortion techniques to harvest and sell the aborted baby’s organs –– including hearts, livers, and small intestines –– to companies that then sold them for huge profits. Her videos resulted in judgments against several organ procurement companies that purchased the abortion giant’s grim offerings.
In the criminal case, Daleiden and Merritt are accused of wrongly recording alleged “confidential communications” at public conferences and at public restaurants. But official records show that Planned Parenthood’s President Cecile Richards confessed under oath before Congress that these tapes were recorded in “a nonconfidential area.”
Furthermore, both federal and state laws are in place to protect Sandra for uncovering crimes and exposing the illegal trafficking of aborted fetal parts for profit. Under federal law, it is both a felony to buy or sell human body parts (42 USC 274e) and to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration (42 USC 289g). Additionally, a baby born alive after a failed abortion is afforded the same legal protection as any person, and thus, killing that infant is homicide (1 USC 8). As for partial birth abortion? Punishable by fines and prison (18 USC 1531).
Planned Parenthood and its affiliates broke every one of these federal laws, yet not one of the 40 Planned Parenthood officials Sandra’s work exposed has been charged with a crime. In a world where good is called evil and evil good, it is Sandra Merritt who is under threat of going to prison.
If federal law weren’t enough, Sandra should be protected under California state law. While California is a two-party consent state for recording conversations, there are exceptions. If reporters believe someone is involved in criminal activity, they can record them without their knowledge or consent. (That is, apparently, unless the criminal activity involves abortion or the $1.7 billion-per-year abortion giant.) Additionally, if the recordings take place in a public space where others are present, where there is no expectation of confidentiality, the recordings are permitted. Sandra’s undercover journalism checks both of these boxes.
The Future of Undercover Journalism Is on the Line
Two recent developments in U.S. courts will play into Merritt’s case. On October 16, the Supreme Court left in place a 2-1 decision by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals protecting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in its undercover journalism work. PETA had sued, rightly claiming that the agriculture industry’s push to stop undercover journalists from exposing animal abuse violated the First Amendment.
In addition, a conflict within the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has arisen. Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in favor of journalist James O’Keefe’s political undercover recording and struck down a two-party consent law in Oregon. However, the same Ninth Circuit with a different panel of judges ruled against our case defending Sandra Merritt’s undercover work in California.
All of this begs the question, is undercover journalism only a crime when pro-lifers do it? Is exposing animal abuse protected by the First Amendment but not child abuse? This cannot stand!
As the criminal trial of Sandra Merritt commences, it’s not just the First Amendment rights of a courageous pro-life grandmother that are on the line, it’s about the First Amendment rights of every American to be able to expose evil and corruption wherever they find it. It’s about the survival of a free press to gather information in the interest and welfare of the public trust. These rights are embedded into our Constitution and are safeguards against corporate and government corruption at the highest level.
Sandra is not a criminal; she’s a champion for exposing the truth about vulnerable unborn American babies whose lives were taken from them before they drew breath, and whose tiny, helpless bodies were cut apart and sold at the hands of the wicked.