News
Featured Image
Center for Medical Progress lead investigator David Daleiden

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 21, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Later this year, a California judge will rule in Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against David Daleiden. But this morning, Daleiden appealed to a higher court.

As the first speaker at the first annual Evangelicals for Life event in Washington, Daleiden shared the story of his three-year-long undercover investigative work in the bowels of the abortion industry. His videos rocked Planned Parenthood and disclosed its little-known practice of receiving money for turning over aborted babies' body parts for scientific research.

Now, Planned Parenthood has sued David Daleiden, lead investigator of the Center for Medical Progress, and other pro-life leaders for exposing its secrets.

While Daleiden has first-rate legal representation through the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, he asked the roomful of Bible-believing Christians to pray for him.

Dr. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission asked, “How can we pray for you?” during a panel discussion after Daleiden's presentation.

“Please pray for wisdom and courage, for those involved with the lawsuit,” Daleiden asked the attendees.

Dr. Moore closing his eyes and bowing his head, prayed for the young man aloud, as Jim Daly of Focus on the Family lay hands on him.

Daleiden had just defended the ethics of undercover journalism – posing as Robert Sarkis of a fictitious company seeking to purchase fetal organs and tissue – saying he intended his words “to serve the truth.”

“At the heart of the whole baby parts trafficking issue is this really cruel paradox,” Daleiden said. Unborn children's “humanity is not considered to be equal enough to our own…in order to be completely protected from being killed by abortion.” But it is the undisputed scientific fact that they share a “humanity that is identical to our own that makes them so valuable for scientific experimentation – and makes Planned Parenthood and researchers hunt after their body parts like buried treasure.”

Daly expressed gratitude for the awareness CMP's undercover videos have brought to millions of Americans through the media – a media that usually bashes the “anti-choice” movement.

“I'm tired of playing defense. Let's play offense,” Daly said later in the day. “That's why I love what David did with the videos.”

He cited a new Marist poll showing 81 percent of Americans support dramatically stronger pro-life laws, including restricting abortion to the first trimester.

“The culture is moving with us,” Daly said. “Momentum is on our side.”

Will justice take Daleiden's side? He's uncertain – but he's ready to fight, and his legal counsel, Thomas Brejcha said, his entire firm is in it for the long haul.

“The Thomas More Society remains committed to defending Daleiden against the abortion industry’s lawsuits aimed at obstructing truth and justice, just as we defended and won the NOW v. Scheidler 'RICO' case after 28 years and three trips to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said.

“The rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press hang in the balance and must be protected.”