SALEM, Ore. — Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette is reimbursed for expenses, but does not profit from the collection of tissue after abortions, according to its president and CEO.
Republican state representatives submitted questions to the local Planned Parenthood and Oregon Health &Science University after they were stopped by Democrats from holding a public hearing on the matter.
OHSU responded Monday and Planned Parenthood the following day, the Statesman Journal reported.
Stacy Cross, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette, said the center offers women receiving abortions the option to donate tissue to two studies being conducted at OHSU. One study is researching how to prevent ectopic pregnancy and the other is researching health risks related to poor placental blood flow.
Cross said the women’s reproductive health center is not paid for individual tissue samples.
“The only funds PPCW receives are designed to reimburse it for certain expenses associated with participating in the studies,” Cross said.
The letter from OHSU says it paid the center $11,500 for use of an exam room, storage and access to an ultrasound machine. It also paid a study coordinator $22 an hour to manage patient consent and up to $2,500 for medical supplies.
The university’s letter was co-written by president Joseph Robertson and Daniel Dorsa, its senior vice president for research.
They said that for the study researching ectopic pregnancy, OHSU receives placental tissue from PPCW that’s less than one centimeter across and comes from pregnancies at less than seven weeks gestation.
For the study on placental blood flow, OHSU receives from PPCW about a centimeter of tissue from a woman’s uterine lining and a centimeter of placental tissue from pregnancies between six and 14 weeks gestation.
“OHSU has an unwavering commitment to high ethical standards and compliance with state and federal laws,” they wrote.
An official from the House Republican Office said the representatives are preparing a response.
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