2 California companies close down over involvement in fetal tissue trafficking

Two biomedical research companies in California have been shut down after admitting their involvement in the illegal sales of aborted baby body parts.

On Friday, the Orange County District Attorney's office announced that it had reached a $7.8 million settlement with DV Biologics and sister company DaVinci Biosciences in a lawsuit over allegations that the two companies have illegally sold fetal tissue to companies around the world.

As part of the settlement, the two companies, both based in Yorba Linda, must cease all operations in California within 60 to 120 days and admit liability for violation of state and federal laws prohibiting the sale or purchase of fetal tissue for research purposes.

According to The Associated Press, the companies must also donate $7.5 million in samples, tissues and cells to a medical school affiliate.

"This settlement seized all profits from DV Biologics and DaVinci Biosciences, which they acquired by viewing body parts as a commodity and illegally selling fetal tissues for valuable consideration. These companies will never be able to operate again in Orange County or the state of California," District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in a statement.

The companies will also donate and transfer laboratory storage containers and equipment estimated to be worth more than $10,000. DV Biologics will pay the county an additional $195,000 in civil penalties.

Rackauckas noted that the investigation into DV Biologics and DaVinci Biosciences began after the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) sent a complaint to the District Attorney's office alleging that the two companies were illegally selling aborted baby parts.

CMP's founder, David Daleiden, had produced a series of undercover videos purportedly showing Planned Parenthood and other medical groups peddling aborted babies' body parts. He said that Planned Parenthood had been a longtime partner of DV Biologics and DaVinci Biosciences.

"For eight years, Planned Parenthood supplied aborted baby hearts, lungs, brains, and intestines to DV Biologics, which DV Biologics then resold for profit," Daleiden said, according to Life News.

"In exchange for merely providing access to aborted baby body parts, Planned Parenthood received kickback contributions from DaVinci Biosciences over the course of their eight-year contract," he added.

The lawsuit alleged that the two companies had profited from at least 500 sales of aborted baby parts and stem cells between 2012 and 2015, and that they had charged more than what it cost them to handle and ship the fetal parts.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Rackauckas stressed that the lawsuit was "aimed at taking the profit out of selling body parts," rather than about abortion politics.

The authorities noted that the companies sold fetal tissue and cells to pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions in Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom.