Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the leadership of Planned Parenthood should be prosecuted after a
video surfaced last week showing one of the group's executives talking about the selling of fetal "tissues," organs and body parts,
IJReview reported.
The 2016 GOP presidential candidate made the comments at a speech on Saturday at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa.
"Every American should watch that video and say, 'Are those my values,'" Cruz said, according to the IJReview.
Planned Parenthood has insisted that the
video was doctored and misrepresented the conversation between Deborah Nucatola of Planned Parenthood and two actors that were hired by an anti-abortion group.
But Cruz said that if the accusations of editing by Planned Parenthood proved to be false, the organization is likely guilty of a number of felonies.
"On tape, it appears a Planned Parenthood official is admitting to multiple felonies. The U.S. Department of Justice, if it was not simply a partisan arm of the DNC, should open an investigation and prosecute Planned Parenthood. Congress should hold hearings and we should cut off funds," Cruz said, according to IJReview.
The nine-minute video, which has nearly 50,000 views on YouTube, has prompted at least one state — Louisiana — to launch an investigation into the organization, according to The Hill.
The video also prompted outrage among Republican lawmakers, including Arizona Sen. John McCain who condemned the organization's practices, according to The Hill.
Last week, House Speaker John Boehner said he'd "vomit trying to talk about" the video.
"If you've seen this video, I don't have to tell you how sickening it is,"
Boehner said at his weekly press briefing Thursday. "So rest assured that we're going to get to the bottom of this, [and] protect the values that we hold dear."
Meanwhile, Kentucky GOP
Sen. Rand Paul pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, saying that the organization has "zero respect" for the sanctity of life.
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