Macy's was quick to sever all ties with Donald Trump after the Republican presidential candidate expressed controversial views on immigration during his campaign announcement, but critics of the company's move are pointing out that the mega-retailer has been silent on another hotly contested political issue – fetal tissue specimens.
Planned Parenthood has been under fire recently due to undercover videos released by The Center for Medical Progress that show two members of the organization’s executive management team allegedly negotiating prices for fetal body parts and tissue donations. A third, heavily edited, video that shows a Planned Parenthood official talking about pre-organ pricing was released on Tuesday. Reps for The Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion organization that filmed the undercover videos, have said they plan on releasing ten to twelve similar videos that illustrate their contention that Planned Parenthood is making a profit from the illegal sale of fetal body parts and tissue.
At first, The Center for Medical Progress released heavily edited versions of each video. Upon releasing the respective videos in their entirety, the controversy has shifted to whether the original comments seen in the videos were taken out of context. FactCheck.org spoke to four human tissue procurement experts and found that the price range ($30-$100) per tissue specimen discussed in the videos is “no way” enough to make a profit and that it is a “reasonable” fee to help cover the cost of shipping and handling on transporting donations.
To that point, Planned Parenthood insists that they “donate” fetal parts and tissue for scientific research and do not make money on their sale. But anti-abortion groups have argued that if specimens are being donated, there should be no need for the haggling that is allegedly seen in the undercover videos. In other words, they argue, why woudn't it just be a flat fee to cover the cost of procurement, shipping and handling?
In the United States, it is illegal for “any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce,” as stated in the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993. According to the law, donations of fetal tissue are allowed under certain criteria. Women who donate tissue cannot know its recipient and the abortion must be centered around the health of the woman, not performed for obtaining the tissue.
Despite the act, and others like it that became law before it, illegal trade of body parts is still an issue. Even Ebay, which has been around since 1995, has had to establish an entire “human remains and body parts” policy that reaffirms guidelines prohibiting the sale of them.
Regardless of whether Planned Parenthood is actually making any profits on the dealings, which is yet to be proven, the organization’s public image is under heavy fire in a similar way Trump’s comments on immigration put him underfire. But what he said had Macy’s scrambling to protect their brand, and it ultimately led to them jettisoning Trump.
Yet, like many companies HNGN queried for this article, Macy's insists it has no plans to stop matching gift donations to Planned Parenthood and that it does not donate to Planned Parenthood "directly."
Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and External Affairs Jim Sluzewski said that Macy's supports its employees – even the "small number" of those that choose to donate to Planned Parenthood. He noted that the company does not make "direct gifts" to Planned Parenthood, and would not disclose how much the company is donating in employee-matched total dollars.
"We do have a matching gift program in which we will match gifts by our employees to any 501(c)(3) organization. We do have 160,000 employees, and each year there is a small handful of employees who apply for a matching gift as part of the matching gift program, and we do match those because Planned Parenthood is a 501(c)(3)," Sluzeski said.
A 501(c)(3) organization is a nonprofit that is exempt from federal income tax.
Sluzewski believes Macy's association with Planned Parenthood through the matching gift program has never affected the company's public image, and he doesn't expect that to change.
"Every day, every paper is filled with controversy about every organization. We are supposed to leave comments about organizations with which we have no virtual connection?" he said. "We match thousands and thousands and thousands of contributions our employees make every year. If three or four of those out of the thousands and thousands and thousands happen to go to Planned Parenthood, that isn't a major subject."
HNGN reached out to a handful of other companies that were listed on Planned Parenthood’s site as matching gift donors to ask if the current controversy will change their stance on having a connection to the organization. Many of the companies we reached said that, like Macy’s, they would continue to honor employee choices and match donations.
All of that leaves anti-abortion advocates wondering where the “Trump-like” red line exists that would initiate severing ties with Planned Parenthood – even within company matching programs. Coca-Cola, for instance, halted it’s affiliation with Planned Parenthood last week, and since then the list of matching donors has been removed from the organization’s website, according to Breitbart.
HNGN also used 2ndvote to compile information on companies that donate to the organization. What we found was that the list on Planned Parenthood’s website was not up to date. Many companies said they severed ties with the organization before this year.
Below are the responses HNGN received from some of the companies that were on the now taken down list.
WASHINGTON POST
"The Washington Post news organization does not contribute to Planned Parenthood. The link you sent me simply refers to a list of organizations that Planned Parenthood’s site notes have a company matching gift program. This list includes the 'Washington Post Company,' which was our parent company until we were sold in 2013. Not only are we no longer owned by The Washington Post Company (now known as Graham Holdings), but any matching gift program for our employees ceased in 2009. I hope this clarifies for you that The Post news organization does not contribute financially to Planned Parenthood."
XEROX
"All I can tell you is we went back in our records more than a decade and could not find any funding on a corporate level to Planned Parenthood during that timeframe."
The company told The Daily Signal that it was one of the companies wrongfully listed as matching gift donors on Planned Parenthood's website.
WELLS FARGO
"We don't have anything to contribute to your story."
BOEING
"We don't have a comment on your questions."
THE VANGUARD GROUP
"Vanguard Group does not make direct corporate donations to Planned Parenthood."
FREDDIE MAC
"Freddie Mac stopped making corporate donations to charitable organizations in 2008. You should also know that, under conservatorship, Freddie Mac's non-profit contributions must be business-related, and that we found no record of a contribution to PP during this time. Conservatorship began September 2008."
PRUDENTIAL
"Thank you for reaching out to Prudential. We have reviewed your request and decline to comment."
SAFECO/LIBERTY MUTUAL
"Neither Liberty Mutual Group nor its member companies – including Safeco Insurance – have elected to direct corporate grants to Planned Parenthood through its philanthropic funding. However, Liberty Mutual Group employees have individually elected to direct charitable gifts to Planned Parenthood, and in those instances Liberty Mutual Group has provided a match to those donations. The choice by Liberty Mutual Group employees to direct their charitable giving is individual, and we choose not to restrict Planned Parenthood as an option because the organization provides health services, clinics and health education. In 2014, Liberty Mutual Group employees generously pledged more than $11.7 million to support nearly 7,500 nonprofit human services organizations; Liberty Mutual Group matches an additional 50 cents on every dollar contributed."
Spokespeople for All State and Bank of America did not respond to HNGN’s request for comment. American Express and Avon also didn't respond, but both companies explained their connection to Planned Parenthood in a Daily Signal article recently.
RELATED LINKS
Planned Parenthood's Top Doctor Caught On Video Discussing The Sale Of Aborted Fetus Body Parts
Actress Patricia Heaton Blasts Planned Parenthood On Twitter
