Planned Parenthood president: Video claims 'not true'

The president of Planned Parenthood responded to accusations against the organization Thursday, denouncing lawmakers and anti-abortion groups who have rallied for investigations of the group's practices.

"I want to be really clear: The allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true," said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards in a video.

The response comes after an anti-abortion group released an undercover video featuring a Planned Parenthood employee Tuesday and made claims that the health care provider violated federal laws by selling fetal tissue of aborted fetuses to medical researchers. In several statements throughout the week, Planned Parenthood said this claim was not true.

Politicians and lawmakers launched investigations into the foundation on Wednesday and Thursday, looking into the claims made by the anti-abortion group called Center for Medical Progress. The group claims Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue to medical researchers for profit and violates the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, which says late-term abortions and certain procedures are illegal.

House Judiciary and House Commerce committees began investigations on Thursday into the alleged practices revealed in the video, according to House Speaker John Boehner in his weekly press briefing. He also asked President Obama to put an end to the practices described by a Planned Parenthood employee in the anti-abortion group's video.

"If you see this video, I don't have to tell you how sickening it is," Boehner said. "Rest assured we're going to get to the bottom of this and protect the values we hold dear."

The video shows Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical research, discussing how to conduct an abortion to maintain certain parts of the fetus for research. The Center for Medical Progress, which identifies as a group of citizen journalists who investigate wrongdoings in the medical field, had two actors pose as employees at a biotech firm to discuss how to obtain this fetal tissue for research purposes.

Eric Ferrero, spokesman for Planned Parenthood, told USA TODAY on Thursday that Nucatola has been reprimanded for her actions.

Richards reiterated in her statement Thursday that the video was manipulated and edited by the anti-abortion group. The Center for Medical Progress told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the video is not edited.

Still, Richards took issue with how Nucatola presented the procedures in the video – edited or not.

"Our top priority is the compassionate care that we provide," Richards said. "In the video, one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect that compassion. This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff member's tone and statements."

The investigations into the foundation span beyond the House. Governors in Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas launched their own investigations over the past two days. Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz all issued terse statements denouncing Planned Parenthood.

Richards believes the Republican candidates are making claims against the organization to win the 2016 presidential election.

"GOP leaders, including most of the '16 field, are tripping over themselves to attack PP because they think that's how to win elections," Richards said in a tweet on Wednesday.