Twelve Republicans Call on Attorney General to Investigate Planned Parenthood

Twelve Republican senators this week asked the U.S. attorney general to investigate Planned Parenthood over the alleged sale of fetal body parts after the recent release of two secretly-filmed videos.

The twelve GOP senators sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday suggesting that the recently-released videos filmed by the Center for Medical Progress show Planned Parenthood executives "discussing the payments received by abortion clinics as compensation for the transfer of fetal tissue from the clinics to scientific researchers."

"The disturbing facts revealed in this video raise the question whether the employees of a federally funded organization have violated federal law by engaging in the transfer of human fetal tissue for profit, and whether the modification of abortion techniques for the purpose of obtaining that tissue violates applicable research guidelines established by federal law," the senators added in their letter to Lynch and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

While twelve GOP senators have backed a probe of Planned Parenthood, a group of Democratic senators have called on the Department of Justice to investigate the activist group behind the filming of the videos, the Center for Medical Progress, arguing that they have violated several state and federal laws through their secret filming.

The recent videos show Planned Parenthood executives discussing the costs that surround the removal and preservation of aborted fetal tissue.

The abortion provider released a statement last week arguing that it does not profit off of the cost of fetal tissue, but critics argue that the videos suggest otherwise.