Calif. governor signs Planned Parenthood-sponsored bill targeting pro-life group

Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) signed a Planned Parenthood-sponsored bill Friday designed to target the filmmaker behind controversial undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives.

Brown’s office announced that he signed the legislation — Assembly Bill 1671 — without additional comment.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) speaks at Los Angeles City Hall on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The bill was written in response to videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that showed Planned Parenthood employees describing the sale of aborted fetal body parts. It criminalizes the recording or distribution of a private conversation with a health care provider.

In a statement, David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress, said his organization "never recorded 'confidential' communications, so California's existing recording law and the new distribution provision are simply inapplicable to our work."

"However, it is clear that Planned Parenthood does not want to be held accountable to the public whose taxpayer money it gladly takes by the hundreds of millions, and will even attack freedom of speech and the freedom of the press in order to maintain its own arbitrary levels of secrecy," Daleiden said.

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California applauded Brown’s signature.

"Gov. Brown sent a clear message to anti-abortion extremists that you cannot break the law in California or you will be held accountable," Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times.

TheBlaze previously reported that California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office consulted with with Planned Parenthood to draft legislation targeting the pro-life group.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board called the bill “bad for whistleblowers.”

The videos released by the Center for Medical Progress raised allegations that Planned Parenthood profited from the sale of aborted fetal body parts. Profiting from the sale of human organs – including those of the unborn – is a felony in the United States. Planned Parenthood has denied illegal conduct. The allegations are under an ongoing congressional investigation.

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