The DC Medical Examiner is expected to destroy the remains of five late-term aborted babies whom activists believe may have been partially aborted or killed after birth in violation of federal law, an attorney representing pro-life activist Lauren Handy told Breitbart News.
The remains of the babies could be destroyed by the end of the week, Thomas More Society senior counsel Martin Cannon said. He noted that the DC Medical Examiner has allegedly decided to move forward with disposal after the Biden administration made clear it had no need for their remains.
In a statement via email, general counsel for the examiner’s office, Rodney Adams, denied any discussion of the case between the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Department of Justice (DOJ) specifically. He did not respond to further questioning, including questions about when the remains are allegedly scheduled for disposal. The DOJ did not respond to request for comment by the time of publication.
The potential disposal of the babies’ remains comes nearly two years after their discovery, along with 110 earlier-term babies. Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) activist Lauren Handy and PAAU’s founder and former executive director Terrisa Bukovinac allegedly discovered the aborted babies in a waste box in March 2022 outside of the Washington Surgi-Clinic, an abortion facility in Foggy Bottom infamous for late-term abortions.
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The activists believe Washington Surgi-Clinic abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo may have aborted the five late-term babies in violation of federal law. Their belief is bolstered by a 2012 undercover video from Live Action, which shows Santangelo allegedly saying he would not assist a baby who is born alive in a botched abortion. D.C. police previously told Breitbart News via email that Santangelo was not under investigation.
Bukovinac said the babies had “a range of injuries, including a fully intact girl we named Harriet, who had one eye open and an incision in the back of her neck, her brain suctioned out and her skull crushed.” PAAU said another child was found intact still contained in its amniotic sac.
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Matt Perdie / Breitbart NewsFive days after their discovery, the DOJ charged Handy and eight other activists with conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act in a separate incident involving a 2020 blockade on the Washington Surgi-Clinic. The activists, including Handy, were found guilty in August 2023 and have been sitting in an Alexandria, Virginia, jail awaiting sentencing. They face up to 11 years in federal prison.
During the trial, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly notably barred Handy’s attorneys from entering photos of the babies’ remains as evidence at trial. She also barred them from including the undercover Live Action video, which Handy’s attorneys argued had “lasting impact” on Handy’s decision to become a pro-life activist and said is “integral to understanding Lauren’s motive that day in October 2020.”
“The condition of those babies and the circumstances under which they died is still relevant to the case,” Cannon told the Daily Signal. “It’s pertinent to sentencing. And I’ve been making some efforts lately to find another pathologist and see what we can do. And, of course, I have advised the medical examiner’s office of that.”
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding he put a halt to the disposal of the five babies, the Daily Signal first reported.
They wrote:
According to evidence and photos, it appears that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban act and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act were both possibly violated, and that at least one child was likely a victim of a partial-birth abortion — which occurs when a physician delivers a living child for the purpose of performing an overt act to intentionally kill that child. Two years have passed have passed since these victims were discovered in early 2022, and yet, despite calls from Congress and non-government entities, there still have-not been autopsies performed or an investigation conducted into this matter.
It has now come to our attention that there are reports that the Department of Justice has instructed the medical examiner’s office to dispose of the babies’ bodies. As Members of Congress, we would like to remind you that the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2002, guarantees that every infant born alive, including an infant who survives an abortion procedure, is considered a person under federal law. An investigation must be conducted on what happened in the Washington Surgi-Clinic to these children to determine if a crime was committed.
We demand that you immediately halt plans to dispose of these children, as they may well be evidence of a crime. We further demand you stop stonewalling and finally conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of these children to determine what truly happened, and hold any lawbreakers or murderers accountable. At the end of this investigation, we encourage a respectful burial of the babies.
Cannon also wrote a letter on Wednesday to Rep. Jim Jordan (R -OH), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, asking him to order a halt to the disposal. A coalition of 35 pro-life organizations is additionally urging Congress to intervene.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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