Planned Parenthood might have said Tuesday that it would no longer accept payments for fetal body parts, but "that doesn't answer the question that they were caught on film repeatedly violating federal law, essentially admitting to a pattern of felony," Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz told
Newsmax TV.
"It is a federal criminal offense punishable by 10 years in prison to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit," the Texas senator told "The Hard Line" host Ed Berliner. "That's exactly what Planned Parenthood was shown doing.
"If they're announced they will stop committing criminal conduct, I suppose that is a marginal improvement — but, nonetheless, they should be held accountable for their actions. They should be investigated by the Department of Justice. They should be prosecuted."
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Cruz, who finished third in the latest
Fox News poll released Tuesday, reiterated his pledge to immediately order a criminal probe of Planned Parenthood by the Justice Department should he win the White House next year.
"Under no circumstances should we be sending $500 million of your and my taxpayer money to fund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.
"They're in the business of taking the lives of unborn children and they've now been implicated in an ongoing criminal conspiracy," Cruz added. "So, of course, we should stop the taxpayer funding — and if I'm elected president, that's exactly what we'll do."
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