California Stem Cell Firm Battles Congress in Fallout From Planned Parenthood Flap

"Terrorized" is how the largest circulation newspaper in California, the Los Angeles Times, put it last year. That's the description of the plight of StemExpress, a small stem cell company in the Sierra Nevada foothills in California.

Now comes the Washington Post with a lengthy piece this weekend about the Placerville firm, which was caught up in the Planned Parenthood abortion/stem cell videos that are still rattling around the Internet. The headline on the story by Danielle Paquette said,

"‘We lose money doing this’: Tiny company caught in abortion debate takes on Congress"

The Post story picks up where the Times and also a piece on the California Stem Cell Report left off last year.

 

Paquette reports that the company has had to supply Republican congressional investigators with more than 2,000 pages of documents including five years of banking records. Employees have received death threats, and now the House committee wants the names of workers, a demand StemExpress is resisting. 

One particular target is Cate Dyer, president and founder of the firm. In December, a Washington

Cate Dyer, CEO of StemExpress
Photo by Max Whittaker for Washington Post

state man was arrested, according to the FBI, after he wrote on the Internet, 

“She will have to face the souls of the babies she’s bought and sold when she arrives on the other side. I’m sending her there early.”

Dyer was interviewed at some length for the article, describing the impact on her company. But it goes beyond what is happening to StemExpress. Paquette wrote, 

"The consequences of this supercharged debate transcend one firm. Scientists and doctors across the country say the political turmoil on Capitol Hill has stalled lifesaving work and imperiled progress toward, among other treatments, a Zika virus vaccine."

Paquette said,

"Those kinds of threats and the growing political pressure have chilled stem cell research at laboratories across the country."

The Post cited a case at Stanford, as well as one in New York state, involving a slow down in research.  Researcher Steven Sloan of Stanford said he was discouraged,

“The backlash makes you think twice about proceeding with this kind of work.”

Paquette concluded her article with this from Melanie Rose, a lab technician at StemExpress,

“This tissue would be thrown away if we didn’t send it to researchers who are truly trying to save lives. I want them to see what I’m doing. That something good can come of it.”

The StemExpress Controversy and Collateral Damage

Back in July, after the Planned Parenthood, anti-abortion controversy erupted and entangled a California firm, one Internet headline read,

“Fetus Miner’s Friends in High Places”

The site that posted the headline was the American Conservative. The item referred to Charlotte Ivanic, the older sister of Cate Dyer, CEO of StemExpress LLC of Placerville. It is the stem cell and human tissue firm that was named in the videos involving Planned Parenthood.

In July, Ivanic was the highly regarded top health policy aide to House Speaker John Boehner, who denounced Planned Parenthood and approved House committee investigations into Planned Parenthood and StemExpress.

Dyer once said that her sister is “one of her biggest inspirations.”

Now she is gone from public service. She left on Aug. 5 and has become a Capitol Hill lobbyist. In a press release, Boehner said, 

“Charlotte has spearheaded some of our most significant accomplishments on behalf of the American people. She is one of the best I’ve seen at bringing people together to find common ground, and she leaves Boehnerland with the deepest respect — and best wishes — of her peers as well as lawmakers from both parties.” 

The news about her resignation was slow to ripple out. It was only yesterday that one anti-abortion Web site caught up with the news. Fireandreamitchell.com had this to say, 

“It took three weeks for Charlotte Ivancic to resign from John Boehner’s staff after the videos went public. This yet again shows that John Boehner is just a progressive like liberal Democrats. Why else would he have a leftist like Charlotte Ivancic on his staff in the first place? John Boehner is not only mentally unstable but a progressive hack too. Boehner has to go, NOW!”

StemExpress: Anti-Abortion Activists Telling "Long Series of Lies"

A beleaguered California company caught in the national, anti-abortion controversy involving Planned Parenthood late today said its foes were engaged in a “long series of lies.”

The company, StemExpress LLC of Placerville, made the charge in a statement that included the unedited portions of the latest anti-abortion video along with a transcript of what was said.
(If you would like the video, please email djensen@californiastemcellreport.com. It is a large file.)

The firm said,

“David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress today released their latest heavily edited, highly-deceptive video in which they claim StemExpress “admitted” to receiving fully intact fetuses from Planned Parenthood….

“During the video, the parties refer to 'cases,' which is a term of art referring to livers in this conversation. CMP’s accusations that this conversation somehow refers to 'intact fetuses,' which were never mentioned at any point during the entirety of the illegally recorded conversation, are false.

“StemExpress has never requested, received or provided to a researcher an “intact fetus.” CMP’s and Daleiden’s claims to the contrary are unequivocally false.”

The statement and release of the transcript reflected a more aggressive posture on the part of StemExpress, which has lost business as a result of the activists’ efforts. Its employees have also been threatened with violence.

Here is the full text of the StemExpress statement.

“StemExpress today released the following concerning CMP’s 8th video:

“David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress today released their latest heavily edited, highly-deceptive video in which they claim StemExpress ‘admitted’ to receiving fully intact fetuses from Planned Parenthood. Accompanying this document is a link to the unedited part of that video where this supposed admission discussion occurred, as well as a transcript of what was actually said.

“As anyone can see and read, the entire discussion was in fact about ‘intact livers.’ Livers are among the most urgently needed of medical tissues by scientists and medical researchers working to cure cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

“During the video, the parties refer to ‘cases,’ which is a term of art referring to livers in this conversation. CMP’s accusations that this conversation somehow refers to ‘intact fetuses,’ which were never mentioned at any point during the entirety of the illegally recorded conversation, are false.

“StemExpress has never requested, received or provided to a researcher an ‘intact fetus.’ CMP’s and Daleiden’s claims to the contrary are unequivocally false.

“Earlier today, a court found that this footage was likely obtained in violation of California criminal law prohibiting the illegal recording of private conversations. In a different court later this afternoon, Daleiden and his CMP co-defendants invoked the 5th Amendment rather than answer questions about their ongoing illegal activities in a related case in federal court. The release of today’s video and CMP’s claims about it are just another in a long series of lies.”

California's StemExpress Loses Bid to Block Anti-Abortion Videos; Appeal Being Considered

A Los Angeles judge today rejected a bid by a California stem cell/human tissue firm to halt the release of an anti-abortion video that the firm said is harming its business and endangering the lives of its employee.

The firm, StemExpress LLC of Placerville, said, however, it is considering appealing the ruling.

Brian Melley of The Associated Press wrote,

“Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell rejected efforts by StemExpress to block the videos, though she said the company likely will prevail in its lawsuit claiming its privacy was violated by an anti-abortion activist posing as a biomedical company employee.”

Melley continued,

“StemExpress won a temporary restraining order last month, but O'Donnell said Friday that the center's First Amendment rights to release the videos trumped the company's right to block them under their privacy claims.

“The judge said she couldn't tell who was telling the truth about how confidential the May meeting was, but she said the fact (David) Daleiden concealed his identity and secretly recorded the conversation made his account less believable.

“O'Donnell rejected the center's argument that the secret recordings were legal under an exemption that allows such subterfuge if someone believes they are gathering evidence of a crime.

"'Defendants' apparent ideological conviction that fetal tissue procurement is a violent felony does not, without more (evidence), rise to the level of a 'reasonable belief,' O'Donnell wrote.”

Legal Setback for California Stem Cell Business Snared in Abortion Flap

A California stem cell/human tissue firm appears to be losing its battle to halt damaging videos that have entangled it in an emotional national controversy about abortion, the Washington Post reported today.

An opinion piece by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said that the Los Angeles judge in the case “seems to have been persuaded” by the anti-abortion activists to refrain from blocking further distribution of the videos involving StemExpress LLC of Placerville.

Quoting from the judge’s tentative ruling last week, Volokh noted that the First Amendment issues in the case apparently are carrying the day even if the activists violated state law in making the surreptitious videos. The Washington Post piece provided a link to the response by the Center for Medical Progress, an Irvine organization behind the videos. ­­­­­

Text of StemExpress Statement on Cutting Ties to Planned Parenthood

Here is the text of the full statement from StemExpress as provided to the California Stem Cell Report by a spokesman for the firm. 

"StemExpress statement Regarding Termination of Agreements With Planned Parenthood

"StemExpress at its core is a small life sciences company committed to accelerating research, advancing medicine, and saving lives. We partner with organizations also seeking to help researchers find solutions to some of life's most significant medical conditions and diseases. Our commitment to quality defines us and is demanded by our customers in the research community. 

"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. While we value our business relationship with Planned Parenthood, that work represents a small percentage of our overall business activity and we must focus our limited resources on resolving these inquiries.

"StemExpress works tirelessly to accelerate the speed of helping patients globally: 7.6 million people die of cancer each year, another 7.4 million of heart disease, over 4.6 million from lung cancer, AIDS and diabetes and every 12 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list. These numbers drive our work and the research community. StemExpress looks forward to the swift resolution of all inquiries and audits so we can focus our full attention on helping the medical and research community improve and save lives."

California's StemExpress Cuts Links with Planned Parenthood in Anti-Abortion Flap

A California stem cell/human tissue firm has severed its ties with Planned Parenthood in the wake of a national, anti-abortion controversy, the Politico Web site reported late today.

Politico writer Jennifer Haberkorn cited a statement from StemExpress LLC of Placerville, which said,

“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. While we value our business relationship with Planned Parenthood, that work represents a small percentage of our overall business activity and we must focus our limited resources on resolving these inquiries.”

The statement has not been posted on the company’s Web site as of this writing.  (Shortly after this item was published, a spokesman released the text of its statement, which can be found here.)

The company has said in court that it has suffered damage and its executives have been threatened with violence as a result of Internet videos that were made surreptitiously by anti-abortion activists. The activists used fake names and a fake company to gain access to Planned Parenthood officials. StemExpress was identified as one of the purchasers of fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood.

Investigations into the company and Planned Parenthood have been launched by the Senate and the House. The issue has come up in the 2016 presidential race. The U.S. Department of Justice and the California attorney general are looking into whether privacy laws were violated by the anti-abortion activists.

The company has been vilified on the Internet. The latest posting involved a video of a former employee of StemExpress, Holly O’Donnell, who said that “she once saw another technician appear to obtain fetal tissue without a patient’s consent,” Politico reported. StemExpress “unequivocally” denied the claim two days ago.

The firm said,

“Like all of their previous material, (the) video by (the activists) is deceptively edited and falsely worded to suggest impropriety or illegality where none exists. (Their) continued efforts to malign StemExpress—a life-sciences company that predominantly supplies adult cells, blood and tissue to the nation’s leading researchers—will only serve to slow the pace of life-saving medical research aimed at curing disease and extending quality of life for millions of Americans.”

Earlier this week, the activists lost a bid to overturn a temporary restraining order against them. StemExpress said they also “refused to produce witnesses for depositions or respond to document requests previously ordered” by the Los Angeles superior court.

Skirting the Courts to Air Anti-Abortion Videos Attacking California Human Tissue Firm

Conservative organizations are exploring ways to sidestep judicial actions that have put a halt to some of the anti-abortion videos dogging a California stem cell/human tissue firm.

One proposal calls for Congressional committees to place the videos on the public record as a result of a Congressional request. The argument goes that the judges cannot prevent a Congressional hearing at which the videos are presented.

The company involved is StemExpress of Placerville, which was identified in videos taken surreptitiously by anti-abortion activists who used false names and a fake company to win the confidence of Planned Parenthood officials.

Both Senate and House committees are looking into the videos, deploring what was said about obtaining human tissue by the Planned Parenthood employees. Federal and state officials are looking into possible criminal violations by the anti-abortion activists who failed to get legal consent for recording the comments by Planned Parenthood officials.

StemExpress has won a temporary restraining order against further distribution of the videos, arguing that the firm has already been harmed and could be irreparably damaged. The firm also said violence has been threatened against company employees as a result of the videos.

Lawyers with the Heritage Foundation, Hans von Spakovsky and Elizabeth Slattery, wrote last week about the order in an item headlined,

“How Lawmakers Can Beat Planned Parenthood’s Stalling Tactics.”

They said, 

“No federal or state judge has the authority to prevent a congressional committee from holding a hearing at which witnesses … testify about their experiences or where the committee presents evidence it has obtained such as the undercover videos, which could also be posted on the committee’s website.” 

The WND website today picked up the lawyers’ suggestion. Bob Unruh wrote that the issue will escalate despite the current Congressional break. He quoted the Family Research Council as saying,

“The political pressure cooker will only get hotter back home when members hear from unhappy voters firsthand.”

The Congressional ploy would additionally­­ involve the National Abortion Federation, which has also won a restraining order on the videos. Hearings on both temporary restraining orders are scheduled for later this month in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

In a related development, another California tissue firm, Advanced Bioscience Resources of Alameda, surfaced on the Politico Web site in connection with the controversy.

Jennifer Haberkorn and Brett Norman wrote,

“One of the companies (Advanced Bioscience)­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ identified as a fetal tissue supplier in sting videos of Planned Parenthood counts two federal health agencies among its customers, earning at least $300,000 for material used in research of treatments for HIV and eye disease….” 

In addition to a House committee, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has requested information from StemExpress, Advanced Biosciences and Novogenix Laboratories, LLC, of Los Angeles, about their policies, practices and revenue.

Three California Human Tissue Firms Targeted by House Committee

A Republican-dominated Congressional committee today zeroed in on three California human tissue firms entangled in the national flap over abortion and the Planned Parenthood Association.

All three were sent letters today seeking to determine whether the companies were in compliance with laws dealing with the distribution of fetal material.  They were given a deadline of Aug. 21 to provide a briefing to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Questions include procedures involving informed consent from donors, fees for fetal tissue, the amount of revenue from fetal tissues in 2014 along with policies and practices for handling fetal tissue.

StemExpress of Placerville, east of Sacramento, and its president Cate Dyer, received one of the letters. The stem cell and tissue firm has been much in the news about the controversy. The flap was triggered by Internet videos with Planned Parenthood officials that were taped surreptitiously by anti-abortion activists using false identities and false company credentials.

Both the federal and California departments of justice are investigating whether the anti-abortion activists violated the law when they made the undercover videos. 

The other two letters went to Linda Tracy, president of Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc., of Alameda, and Ben Van Handel, executive director of Novogenix Laboratories, LLC, of Los Angeles. (See the letter to Advanced here, the letter to Novogenix here.)

The letters to StemExpress and the Advanced Bioscience referred to a July 27, New York Times article that included them. The House committee letter quoted from the piece.

The article by Denise Grady and Nicolaus St. Fleur said, 

"(F)etal tissue is a uniquely rich source of the stem cells that give rise to tissues and organs, and that studying how they develop can provide clues about how to grow replacements for parts of the body that have failed.

“'Think of fetal tissue as a kind of instruction booklet,' said Sheldon Miller, the scientific director of the intramural research program at the National Eye Institute.

"Stem cells derived from adult tissue may eventually replace fetal ones, researchers say, but the science is not there yet."

All three companies were told by the House committee,

“Under the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, it is "unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the
transfer affects interstate commerce." While this provision prohibits the sale or purchase of fetal
tissue itself, the term "valuable consideration" does not include reasonable payments associated
with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of
human fetal tissue. As the committee with legislative jurisdiction over the NIH Revitalization
Act of 1993, we have an oversight responsibility and interest in determining whether there is
adequate compliance with the law, and/or whether the law is adequately meeting ethical and
moral concerns." 

A Reuters story said that none of the companies has responded to a request for comment.