Lawmakers plan hearing on banning fetal body part sales

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican legislators have scheduled a public hearing on a bill that would outlaw selling, donating and experimenting with fetal body parts in Wisconsin.

The Assembly’s criminal justice committee has set the hearing for Tuesday in the state Capitol. Such hearings are typically a precursor to a committee vote clearing the way for a full vote on the Assembly floor.

The bill’s authors, Reps. Andre Jacque and Joel Kleefisch, say the bill is a reaction to recently released videos showing a Planned Parenthood medical director in southern California meeting with people posing as potential buyers of intact fetal specimens.

Federal law prohibits commercial sale of fetal tissue but allows not-for-profit tissue donation with consent from the woman who had an abortion.