I watched the Planned Parenthood hidden camera video last night. It is jarring for someone who isn’t a doctor to hear a doctor speak so cavalierly about organs harvested from an abortion.

However, I didn’t find the smoking gun that I expected to find given the uproar this video has caused. This makes me think that this is another round of culture war overreaching.

Don’t rely on my take. Here’s the 60-page transcript of the conversation and the full-video below, both from the group that recorded the lunch last year.
It is hard to believe that anyone within the much-scrutinized Planned Parenthood operation would be so undiscerning as to leave the organization vulnerable to a video operation that smacks of gotcha editing and interpretation. Obviously, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, did.

That said, investigations are rightly underway. The sale of organs is a crime, and if it is occurring within Planned Parenthood, then the legal hammer should fall on those involved. From the transcript though, I came away with the impression that Dr. Nucatola was discussing legal donor activity, not advocating illegal organ sales.

Sharon Grigsby: What’s toughest to stomach in anti-abortion ‘sting’ video on Planned Parenthood

Don’t rush to judge Planned Parenthood

Collateral damage has already been done. And here’s a small sample of what I mean.

This from the Washington Post:

A bill to increase funding for breast cancer research was pulled from the House floor after abortion critics linked it to Planned Parenthood. The Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act would have raised as much as $4.75 million in research funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure—an organization that has a longstanding alliance with Planned Parenthood to fund preventative cancer screenings. The bill was expected to pass easily, but House Republican leaders pulled it from consideration after the conservative group Heritage Action objected.

Salon: What the Planned Parenthood hoax really proves

Reasonable people can disagree over the ethics of abortion. I get it. I grew up Catholic. I cringe at the thought of abortion, but I also respect a woman’s right to make that choice.

I have a major problem when a claim doesn’t match up with the video and the ensuing flap generates collateral damage to Planned Parenthood, other organizations and reputations as politicians pile on with accusations.