Leaders of a national pro-life organization are demanding an investigation into the deaths of five late-term infants whose bodies were discovered last week at the Capitol Hill region home of a progressive pro-life activist in Washington, D.C.
D.C. police discovered the bodies of the babies last Wednesday at a home occupied by pro-life activist Lauren Handy, WUSA9 reported.
The New York Times also reported Thursday Terrisa Bukovinac, founder and executive director of the group called Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), confirmed the home in which the deceased babies were found belonged to Handy, the group’s director of activism.
PAAU describes itself as “progressive grassroots pro-life activists dismantling the abortion industrial complex and standing in solidarity with the unborn victims killed by abortion violence.”
“We are definitely going to reveal all the details on Tuesday, and they are explosive,” Bukovinac said, referring to a press conference planned for Tuesday, according to the Times.
“It is beyond horrific and devastating for me as a neonatologist to see these images, as these babies are representative of the very same patient population that I care for,” neonatologist Dr. Kendra Kolb told pro-life media Live Action News after viewing photos of the deceased infants.
“To then see these discarded aborted babies, and even try to imagine what they went through during these horrific abortion procedures is infuriating and devastating beyond words,” Kolb asserted.
BREAKING: Aborted Babies Discovered in DC May Indicate Infanticide After Attempted Abortions By Infamous Late-Term Abortionist Cesare Santangelo https://t.co/IZYUrCBgWu
— Live Action (@LiveAction) April 1, 2022
Police reportedly received a tip about “potential bio-hazard material in the residence,” according to the report, and then turned over the remains of the infants to the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
WUSA9 described Handy as “an anti-abortion activist who was indicted along with eight others Wednesday by a federal grand jury.”
“Handy is accused of felony conspiracy against rights for a blockade inside a D.C. abortion clinic in October 2020,” the report continued.
Homicide and forensic detectives reportedly carried out red biohazard bags and coolers from the basement of the home.
According to WUSA9, Handy would not say what was in the coolers, but did state “people would freak out when they heard.”
D.C. Police Executive Assistant Chief of Police Ashan M. Benedict reportedly said Thursday at a news conference after the discovery of the children’s bodies an investigation would be continuing, but dismissed any issues regarding the deaths of the infants.
The babies “were aborted in accordance with D.C. law, so we are not investigating this incident along those lines,” Benedict said. “There doesn’t appear to be anything criminal about that — except for how they got into this house, and so we’ll continue to look at that.”
According to a report at The Daily Wire, the D.C. medical examiner said that it will not be performing autopsies on the bodies of the babies.
“One of the worst injustices would be if the medical examiner and D.C. government dispose or incinerate the bodies of these children before a full autopsy could be completed,” Noah Brandt, Live Action director of government affairs, told The Daily Wire Monday.
“The abortionists do not want autopsies performed because they may indicate violations of federal law,” he said. “D.C. must preserve these remains until a full, fair, and thorough investigation can be completed.”
This story, bringing abortion into the light, is very hard to get through. The humanity of these children is undeniable – they deserved our protection. Abortion is a grave human rights abuse and a tragedy that we should all work together to end. https://t.co/A7Se8TwwRK
— Jeanne F. Mancini (@jeannemfl) April 4, 2022
“The humanity of these children is undeniable – they deserved our protection,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life. “Abortion is a grave human rights abuse and a tragedy that we should all work together to end.”
After viewing what was described as “shocking” photos of the bodies of the dead infants, national pro-life organization Live Action demanded an investigation into whether the babies may have been born alive during attempted abortions.
According to medical experts cited in a report Friday at Live Action News, the five aborted infants “appear to have been viable human beings, raising questions about potential legal and serious ethical violations by the abortion clinic.”
“I can say with confidence that these babies died at an age when they were viable, premature people,” neonatal specialist Dr. Robin Pierucci said in comments to Live Action, noting that she works in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where she would “care for little ones this size and age.”
According to Live Action News:
[P]erhaps the largest and most developed baby found was a boy, whose gestational age has been estimated to be around 28-32 weeks – well within the third trimester, past the point at which the majority of experts agree that preborn babies can feel pain, and beyond the point many states have restricted abortions for medical and ethical reasons.
The report continued:
Photos and video of the first baby boy reveal that he remained largely intact, raising questions about how his life ended. He also has what appears to be a fully formed face, fingers, toes, and all the primary features normally visible in a newborn.
Dr. Kathi Aultman, a former abortionist who is now pro-life, told Live Action News the baby boy “appears to be in the 3rd trimester near term and looks like he should have been in the nursery.”
Dr. Patti Giebink similarly said via email that this baby boy “looks close to term gestation … [a]nd pretty much intact,” adding that she couldn’t “believe they would abort a nearly full-term baby unless there was something terminally wrong with the baby, but it doesn’t appear so.”
“He is totally intact, but his skin is somewhat macerated,” Aultman said, adding:
In other words, it has begun to degenerate, which would indicate that he was probably dead when he was aborted, or he was not well preserved, and his tissues began to deteriorate after the abortion. He appears to be completely normal and was probably aborted using the induction method, which uses medication to induce labor. He looks about the same size as my granddaughter when she was born.
Neonatologists Kolb and Pierucci also expressed shock at the state of this baby’s body, with Kolb estimating his gestational age to be as late as 32 weeks.
“Even if all of these babies were aborted ‘legally’, it is without question and crystal clear to see that this practice is neither ethical nor empowering to women,” Kolb told Live Action News. “This is the American horror story that we call ‘choice’ on full display for all to see.”
Another baby, a girl, “could be seen with her right eye open, significant damage to her head, and with the rest of her body relatively intact. Footage shows her curled in the fetal position with pinkish-tan skin as her lifeless, half-open eye looks into the distance,” the Live Action report observed, adding:
Many of the babies’ bodies showed deep lacerations or other forms of damage that likely resulted from abortion procedures inflicting significant trauma with deep pain prior to their deaths.
Live Action observed that while the District of Columbia does not ban late-term abortions, abortionists are still required by federal law to restrict the method of performing these abortions and provide life-saving care for infants who survive botched abortions.
“Lifesaving care is something Dr. Cesare Santangelo, who operates the facility where the discarded babies were discovered, has already said repeatedly that he either doesn’t provide or avoids,” the pro-life organization noted, pointing to its 2012 Inhuman exposé series focused on America’s late-term abortion industry.
“The discovery of these bodies is horrific and disturbing evidence of the infanticide that may be occurring in this clinic within our nations’ capital, and indicative of the violence happening in abortion facilities nationwide,” said Live Action President and Founder Lila Rose in response to the events.
Following the discovery of the bodies, the U.S. Department of Justice released a “two-count indictment” that charged Handy and eight other defendants with Federal Civil Rights Conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE Act) offenses “for obstructing patients and providers of a reproductive health services facility.”
The DOJ’s case is being investigated by the FBI.
The Times observed:
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland had signaled in September that the Justice Department would use the FACE Act to protect the constitutional right to abortion, days after a Texas law enacting a near-complete ban on the procedure went into effect.
If convicted, the defendants could each face up to 11 years in prison and fines of $350,000.
Live Action is demanding that D.C. police complete an in-depth investigation into the Washington Surgi-Clinic and the deaths of the five babies.
Additionally, the organization is calling upon Congress “to conduct a thorough inquiry to ensure this clinic is not violating the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.”
Faith leaders have asked the D.C. Chief Medical Examiner to ensure the five late-term aborted babies receive a “proper and dignified burial.”
According to a press release Monday, Rev. Patrick Mahoney, chief strategy officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, wrote to Dr. Francisco Diaz:
I am currently working with national faith leaders who would assist in providing and performing dignified burial services for these children. Of course, we would supply all of the necessary financial resources for these funerals.
“As a society, we will be judged by how we treat our children and the most marginalized,” Mahoney wrote. “Let us then give these children the dignity and respect they deserve.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
