If abortion groups are trying to keep a low profile, they’re not doing a very good job of it. While Congress debates whether taxpayers should fund the likes of Planned Parenthood, the industry has spent the last six months trying to avoid headlines. That will be impossible now, thanks to a federal judge who’s threatening to send the man responsible for exposing the grisly business to jail.

At issue now is whether Daleiden’s team violated the court’s order by posting new footage of clinic workers talking about the grisly details of abortion (and an admission that they sometimes “alter the procedure for financial gain”). BuzzFeed insists the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) is in serious hot water now, having “flouted multiple injunctions and court-issued seals by posting more shocking videos of abortion providers and identifying 14 of the John/Jane Does participating in the state criminal complaint against him and his recording partner Sandra Merritt. Those names were previously under a court seal.” If the court holds Daleiden in contempt for going public with the tapes, it could be “punishable by fines, jail time and disbarment for the attorneys involved.”

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is doing his best to make that pain a reality. Together with the National Abortion Federation, the state’s top law enforcer is pushing for the maximum penalty against Daleiden’s team. And with Planned Parenthood’s PAC on his donor rolls, it’s no wonder why. “Before becoming the current attorney general,” RedState points out, “Becerra was a state representative and over years received thousands in donations from PPFA.” That investment is paying off handsomely for the abortion industry, which has watched with satisfaction as the courts and AG’s office work overtime to protect their pals from investigations like David’s.

The pro-lifer was already in an uphill climb against federal Judge William Orrick, who’s responsible for putting the videos under lock and key to begin with. And according to records, Orrick has some interesting political connections of his own. Not only was he appointed by President Obama, but as documents show, he raised $200,000 for Obama’s campaign. So much for impartiality! This is the same judge who — despite an independent forensic report — insisted, “[CMP’s projects] thus far have not been pieces of journalistic integrity, but misleadingly edited videos and unfounded assertions.” That intimidation continued with Orrick’s warning: “Mr. Daleiden better be well advised by his lawyers … that he is obligated to follow the Court’s orders and not try to skate around them and cause real harm to human beings and [legally] to himself.”

Of course, the tragic irony is that real harm is already being done to human beings. And not by David Daleiden! If his work has proven anything, it’s who the real culprits are. To the pro-life movement, David is a hero who’s put an exclamation point on taxpayers’ insistence that Congress defund these groups. In the meantime, the attorneys for CMP aren’t taking this collusion lying down. They’ve argued all along that the tapes are protected by the First Amendment — and former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley agrees. The case against Daleiden is “beyond weak,” he told reporters. “He is being persecuted for using very law-based efforts to expose corruption and criminality.” And he’s not alone. Even the LA Times editorial board found the 15 felony charges bogus!

FRC’s Arina Grossu is one of millions who thinks the abortion industry should be paying the price — not CMP.

David Daleiden is a courageous hero for exposing the gory reality of the abortion industry and its sale of baby body parts. The implicated parties, including the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood, want to hide the truth from the general public about “the heads that get stuck,” the baby eyeballs falling into laps during abortions, using forceps to “pull off a leg or two,” and executives even admitting that abortion is violence and killing a person. David Daleiden’s First Amendment rights must be protected. The perpetrators exposed in these videos should be put in jail, not the messenger exposing them.

Even staring down time behind bars, the pro-life leader has no regrets. “The story is not over yet,” Daleiden said. “They’ve brought it all back front and center again.” Even now, facing a prison sentence for blowing the lid off of these clinics’ real agenda, he’s just happy the videos are back in the news. “I’m all in. We have more videos that have yet to be released and there are more battles that have yet to be fought,” Daleiden said. “I’m not giving up.” Neither will we — not until abortion is held in the contempt that it deserves.

Originally published here.

Reid Between the Lines

If there was hope that the Left would tone down its rhetoric after last Wednesday’s shooting, it’s been quickly dashed. Thanks to the likes of MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid and CBS’s Scott Pelley, the culture of civility was short-lived — at least in the liberal media. In a crass display that showed how incapable the Left is of restraint, Reid openly attacked House Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) views while he lies in serious condition in a hospital bed!

“Everybody is wishing the congressman well and hoping that he recovers,” Reid said, “but Steve Scalise has a history that we’ve all been forced to sort of ignore on race. He did come to leadership after some controversy over attending a white nationalist event, which he says he didn’t know what it was.” She went on, “Because he is in jeopardy and everyone is pulling for him, are we required to put that aside?” Flashing up his “extreme” beliefs on everything from marriage to health care, she also tweeted that Scalise was shot by a white man and saved by a black woman.

Fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough could hardly believe his eyes. In a string of social media posts, he fires back at Reid. “If you are attacking Steve Scalise’s voting record right now, do yourself a favor and just stop now. I can’t even believe what I’m seeing. Who would even think for one second that it is appropriate to attack a man who is fighting for his life after an assassination attempt?” As for Scalise’s values, he tweets, “So let me get this straight. If you’re a practicing Catholic and you believe what the church says, you are open to attack after being shot? He’s fighting for his life right now. What is wrong with you? Until he’s out of ICU, why don’t you take it up with the Pope?”

Unfortunately, Reid wasn’t the only one who couldn’t contain herself. CBS’s Scott Pelley had the nerve to say Scalise’s gunshot may have been self-inflicted, a suggestion Howard Kurtz called “appalling.” Less than a week after a madman left Scalise fighting for his life, some liberals are already blaming the House whip — or worse, implying that he deserved it. This is exactly the mentality that inspires violence like James T. Hodgkinson’s.

With rhetoric like this, liberals like Reid and Pelley are implying that they don’t just want to eliminate your opinions, they want to eliminate you! That’s the difference between the far-Left and most conservatives, who think everyone has worth, even if their ideas are worthless. Surely we can all agree that no one deserves to be attacked, have their lives threatened (or their livelihoods) for holding diverse opinions. In a free society, we should be able to challenge flawed ideologies of all kinds. But challenging ideologies is different than threatening people. And that’s a distinction liberals will have to understand if there’s any hope for healing our nation of this deadly disrespect.

Originally published here.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.