September 01, 2015 11:24 AM UTC

Health Department To Colorado Republicans: You've Got Nothing

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Last week, following the announcement by Attorney General Cynthia Coffman that there would be no investigation into the fetal tissue donation practices of Planned Parenthood in Colorado–a formerly uncontroversial practice, recently scandalized by an hidden camera sting campaign against the organization–some 30 Republican Colorado legislators headed up by Rep. Dan Nordberg of Colorado Springs responded with a letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment demanding they investigate anyway.

Yesterday, they got their response from CDPHE:

Dear Representative Nordberg:

As requested by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Executive Director Dr. Larry Wolk, this letter responds to your August 26, 2015 request for an investigation of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates for alleged violations of Section 25-2-111.5 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

Upon review of your letter, we note that your request is based solely on a reference to a brief and edited video distributed by the Center for Medical Progress. [Pols emphasis] We appreciate your concerns and are committed to upholding the laws we are charged with enforcing. At this time, CDPHE has received insufficient information to commence an investigation. Should full, unedited, and raw footage, or other material evidence, be provided to CDPHE, the Department will consider such information and determine whether further action is warranted.

Numerous states have already conducted their own “investigations” of Planned Parenthood in the wake of the so-called Center for Medical Progress’ releases of heavily edited videos they claim provide evidence that Planned Parenthood “sells” fetal tissue for medical research. Although selling such tissue for profit is illegal, both federal and Colorado state laws specifically allow for costs of handling and transportation to doctors and health care organizations to be reimbursed. Every single one of the videos released so far have either been edited into investigatory uselessness–or, when released unedited, feature Planned Parenthood employees clearly and repeatedly affirming these tissue donations follow the law.

As a result, the states that have finished their “investigations,” even red states like Indiana and Georgia, have found no violations of the law. That’s not a hinderance for other red states like Arkansas, though, who aren’t even bothering with an inquiry before simply electing to cut off Planned Parenthood’s funding. Which is, of course, something that state’s Republican governor would be happy to do under basically any pretext.

The truth is, Colorado’s reality-based refusal to join the Planned Parenthood bashing party is exactly what’s frustrating Rep. Dan Nordberg and the dozens of Colorado Republican lawmakers who signed his letter asking CDPHE to reconsider. Their request isn’t about the facts, it’s about capitalizing on the emotional reaction to these overhyped, deceitfully edited videos. Indeed, the objective is for the emotional reaction to trump the facts.

And no, it’s not a responsible way to govern. But this isn’t about that either.