Planned Parenthood Threatens UCLA Pro-Life Advocate on Abortion Coverup (she now has legal counsel)

“According to the letter, which LifeNews.com obtained, Wagle claims the videos were made “through false pretenses and unlawfully” and that the conversations they contain “were surreptitiously recorded without the knowledge and consent of PPLA employees.””

Tell that to Newt Gingrich, who had his cell phone conference call conversations taped “accidentally” in 1996 by a couple in Florida (Alice and John Martin, of Fort White, FL), who gave it to their gave the tape to Florida Congresswoman Karen Thurman, who later gave it back to the Martins and recommended they give it to Congressman Jim McDermott, the ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee investigating Gingrich.

Two days later the contents of the tape were on the front page of the “New York Times.” NOTE: Federal law (the Electronic Communications Privacy Act) prohibits intentionally intercepting telephone calls or intentionally disclosing their contents. After the damage was done, McDermott recused himself from the Ethics Committee. Wotta guy!! /sarcasm

The sainted Martins (who, coincidentally, are active in Florida DEMACRATIC politics) eventually pleaded guilty and were fined a “whopping” $500 each. However, the court ruled that McDermott’s leaking of the call’s contents to the press is protected by freedom of speech. Because the recordings were a matter of “important public interest,” (how this conversation was a matter of “important public interest” is a bit questionable) the First Amendment trumped the privacy rights of the call’s participants. Those who staunchly defend “privacy rights” and condemn Linda Tripp for taping her own conversations to protect herself are strangely silent about releasing the contents of an illegally recorded cell-phone conversation.

Notice the trend here? (for an interesting recount of the event, see www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/january97/cellular_1-14.html)
Where was Newt’s expectation of privacy?

I think that these recordings, which shed light on the highly illegal and immoral aspects of the loathsome abortion enthusiasts like PP are definitely in “the public interest” and should be given the same wristslap treatment the Martins got.

Naturally, the Democrats will do no such thing, because laws are only written to punish non liberals.

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