Harris County, Texas, prosecutors dropped charges Tuesday against two anti-abortion activists involved in a series of undercover videos against Planned Parenthood. File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI |
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HOUSTON, July 26 (UPI) -- Criminal charges were dropped Tuesday against two anti-abortion activists who secretly recorded Planned Parenthood officials in Houston.
The Harris County District Attorney's office won't proceed with the case against David Daleiden, 27, and Sandra Merritt, 62, both of Davis, Calif., who were accused of using fake California driver's licenses to enter the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast office and record staff discussing costs of providing fetal tissue for research.
Daleiden and Merritt were charged with tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony charge that carries up to 20 years in prison. A Harris County judge in June dismissed a second charge against Daleiden -- a misdemeanor of offering to sell or buy fetal tissue -- because of a technical problem with the indictment filed by prosecutors.
The video footage showed the two posing as representatives of a company called BioMax seeking to purchase fetal tissue for research. Planned Parenthood said it refused to sell fetal organs for the offered price of $1,600.
The criminal charges came after a criminal investigation launched at the urging of Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick into Planned Parenthood after the release of the activists' recordings.
But a Harris County grand jury in January instead charged Daleiden and Merritt.
Daleiden's lawyers wanted the charges dismissed because they allege the grand jury exceeded its authority. DA Devon Anderson issued a statement saying Texas law prohibited his office from investigating Daleiden Merritt after the grand jury term was extended.
"In light of this and after careful research and review, this office dismissed the indictments," Anderson said.
Daleiden released several videos last year while working undercover for his group, Center for Medical Progress, allegedly showing Planned Parenthood clinics across the country selling fetal tissue, a violation of federal law.
