Medical company cuts ties with Planned Parenthood

A company that helped with Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue donation program is ending its relationship with the health provider.

Stem Express, a small company based in northern California, has come under intense scrutiny in the last few weeks after it was caught up in an anti-abortion group’s campaign against Planned Parenthood.

“We value our various partnerships but, due to the increased questions that have arisen over the past few weeks, we feel it prudent to terminate activities with Planned Parenthood,”  Stem Express said in a statement.

{mosads}The company had helped facilitate fetal tissue donation with one Planned Parenthood clinic. Nationwide, three Planned Parenthood affiliates in two states allow patients to donate fetal tissue for medical research, according to a statement by the group.

Stem Express is the first company to cut ties with the group.

A representative for Planned Parenthood declined to confirm the report, and Stem Express did not return requests for comment.

Both organizations deny any wrongdoing, describing the fetal tissue program as part of a life-saving medical process.

Anti-abortion activists with the Center for Medical Progress have used secretly recorded footage of Stem Express employees, as well as video from former employees, to raise questions about the legality of Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue program.

The center has released six videos targeting Planned Parenthood and Stem Express since July.

One former Stem Express employee, who has been featured in several videos, claims that women’s aborted fetuses may have been used without their permission, which Planned Parenthood has denied.

The anti-abortion group also released multiple internal documents from Stem Express that detailed its work with Planned Parenthood.

– Updated on August 16 at 12:34 p.m.