As the scandal involving sales of fetal body parts continues to make headlines across the nation, Sen. Mike Padden is reminding Washington’s abortion providers that state law protects fetuses that have a heartbeat, are moving, or otherwise are showing signs of life outside the womb.

Since 1981 the section of Washington law which governs the conduct of physicians has guaranteed that infants born alive through an abortion procedure have the same right to medical treatment as an infant of the same gestational age that is born prematurely.

“Because this state law (RCW 18.71.240) has been in place nearly 35 years, it is possible that those performing abortions are either unaware of it or have moved away from compliance, over time, because of the profit motive,” said Padden, chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

In a letter sent this week to Planned Parenthood of Washington and the Seattle-based Cedar River Group, Padden notes abortion providers have longstanding arrangements with publicly funded research institutions, including the University of Washington.

In that light “I want to be particularly certain that your practices and agreements are in compliance with state law,” wrote Padden, R-Spokane Valley.

Padden’s letter describes how undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress have led to serious allegations against abortion providers in other states – that they are engaged in practices which are illegal and unethical, all in an effort to sell fetal body parts to third-party companies which in turn profit from reselling those parts for research.

Those practices include:

• Altering the abortion procedure to allow for more profitable extraction of fetal organs in violation of federal law;
• Charging for more than the de minimis amount of money associated with the cost of extraction of the fetal body parts to make a profit from harvesting them in violation of federal law; and
• Dissecting of fetuses that have a heartbeat, are moving, or otherwise are showing signs of life outside the womb.

The latter practice is particularly horrifying in addition to being illegal under RCW 18.71.240, Padden said.