BREAKING: Federal judge extends restraining order on producers of Planned Parenthood videos
SAN FRANCISCO (Christian Examiner) – A U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco has extended a restraining order against the Center for Medical Progress, the prolife activist group that has become the scourge of Planned Parenthood.
CBS San Francisco has reported Judge William Orrick III on Monday sided with the National Abortion Federation (NAF), which filed a suit against CMP last week, and agreed to extend the order barring the group from releasing any secretly recorded videos of the members of the NAF.
The temporary restraining order will remain in effect until a preliminary injunction hearing August 27, giving the NAF and its ally Planned Parenthood breathing room.
"We are grateful to Judge Orrick for extending the temporary restraining order," NAF President and CEO Vicki Saporta said in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our members and taking these criminals to task for their illegal activities."
We are grateful to Judge Orrick for extending the temporary restraining order. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our members and taking these criminals to task for their illegal activities.
CMP and its leaders, Daniel Daleiden and Troy Newman, have not been charged with any crime and have not been accused by any legitimate law enforcement agency of breaking the law to this point. Pro-abortion advocates have, however, asked California Attorney General Kamala Harris to investigate CMP.
CMP has not issued another statement on Judge Orrick's decision to extend the restraining order. Their July 31 statement, after Orrick's initial order, said:
"The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work. The National Abortion Federation is a criminal organization that has spent years conspiring with Planned Parenthood on how to violate federal laws on partial-birth abortion and fetal tissue sales. The Center for Medical Progress will contest any attempts to suppress our First Amendment rights to free speech or silence the freedom of the citizen press."
Orrick was appointed to his position in 2012 by President Barack Obama and was recommended by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). According to a report at The Federalist, Orrick raised at least $200,000 for the president's campaign as a "bundler." The judge also donated nearly $31,000 to political action committees supportive of Obama.
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