HUGE: California drops charges against pro-life journalists
They’ve faced years of legal persecution for exposing Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby parts
There is no doubt that the last ten days have seen significant victories for the embattled pro-life movement in the United States.
President Donald Trump has pardoned several pro-life activists persecuted under the Biden administration, rolled back taxpayer funded abortions, and limited federal law that was previously weaponized against sidewalk ministry.
These significant moral victories do not appear to be limited to Washington DC, either — as it happens, in California, the state has finally ended its prosecution of the pro-life investigative journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s scheme to sell aborted fetal body parts.
The Daily Wire reports that the California Attorney General’s office has come to a settlement with David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the journalists behind the infamous undercover tapes which exposed the sick scheme in 2017.
“The agreement—a negotiated settlement with zero punishment—is in exchange for a new ‘no contest’ plea by Daleiden and Merritt on a single video recording charge. It involves no jail time, no fines, no admission of wrongdoing, and no probation,” a press release from the Center for Medical Progress, Daleiden and Merritt’s organization, reads. “The new ‘no contest’ plea—which cannot be used adversely—will be entered into judgment as a misdemeanor in 6 to 12 months, and then converted to a ‘not guilty’ plea, dismissed, and expunged.”
Meanwhile, the AG’s office painted the settlement as some kind of victory against the pro-life movement.
“Previously, in 2017, the California Department of Justice announced the filing of an arrest warrant against Daleiden and Merritt,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement. “[T]hey each pleaded no contest to, and were found guilty of, one felony count of California Penal Code Section 632(a) (unlawful recording of confidential communication).”
“While the Trump Administration is issuing pardons to individuals convicted of harming reproductive health clinics and providers, my office is securing criminal convictions to ensure that Californians can exercise their constitutional rights to reproductive healthcare,” the also said. “We will not hesitate to continue taking action against those who threaten access to abortion care — whether by recording confidential conversations or other means.”
Daleiden, who has been at the center of the scandal for years, certainly did not see the plea deal as anything short of a victory.
“After enduring nine years of weaponized political prosecution, putting an end to the lawfare launched by [then-Attorney General] Kamala Harris is a huge victory for my investigative reporting and for the public’s right to know the truth about Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts,” Daleiden said in a statement.
This is indeed a huge legal victory for a person whose legacy will always be remembered in the anti-abortion movement. Daleiden and his cohorts managed to shift national attention to the dark underbelly of the abortion industry. Thanks to him, we now know so much more about the no-longer-hidden agenda of abortion on demand.
That is SUCH GOOD NEWS!! This poor man has been fighting for justice for so many years!
Glad they are getting the charges dropped. No contest is a neutral option but if the AG follows through with the rest of the steps to not guilty it will work. Praise the Lord for justice!