The case came to light after activists with Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) said they had obtained a box of medical waste containing 115 aborted fetuses from a Washington abortion clinic, and that there were indications that five of the procedures weren’t done legally.
They “were so advanced in their gestational age and the patterns of their wounds suggest violent federal crimes,” Lauren Handy, director of activism for the pro-life group, told reporters during a press conference.
Specifically, the five babies are suspected to have been killed by partial-birth abortion, an extremely controversial procedure that allows doctors to deliver and then end the child’s life outside of the womb.
Under the standard set out in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that once babies reached the point of “viability,” or the ability to live independently outside of the womb, restrictions on abortion were proper and aligned with the state’s interest in protecting life.
PAAU’s discovery of the bodies caused an outcry of horror among many conservative and pro-life activists, with posts on the issue garnering thousands of views and shares on various social media platforms.
Now, a coalition of 23 Republicans—including lawmakers such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas)—are demanding that police conduct a more thorough investigation into the infants’ deaths.
“Instead of ensuring that the horrific deaths of these children were properly investigated, Metropolitan Police made the assumption that each child died as the result of a legal abortion.
“It is our understanding that the Metropolitan Police made this assumption without conducting any medical evaluations. We also understand from press reports that the D.C. medical examiner does not plan to perform autopsies on the children. This is completely unacceptable.
“While other horrific methods of abortion unfortunately remain legal for the time being, killing a child through a partial-birth abortion is a crime under federal law. Under the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, a partial-birth abortion occurs when a physician partially delivers a living child for the purpose of performing an overt act that intentionally takes the life of the child.”
They also noted that the partial-birth abortion ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Carhart in 2007.
“Based on evidence collected at the time of recovery and photos that have been publicly shared, all five of these children appear to have developed well past the point of viability, and likely suffered severely painful abortion procedures, though without an autopsy, it is not known how each child died,” the letter continues.
“For example, one baby girl has significant damage to her head, with deep lacerations at the back of the neck, and may have been victim of an illegal partial birth abortion. Another baby was found in its amniotic sac and could have been born alive.
“These five children, like all children, have inherent value and deserved better than abortion—they deserved life. But at a minimum, they deserve to have their deaths investigated to ensure that no D.C. or federal laws were broken.
“In light of this information, we demand that a thorough investigation is conducted into the death of each child. In order to accomplish such investigation, we request and fully expect the city to conduct autopsies on the children and preserve all collected evidence.
“Finally, at the conclusion of such examinations, we urge the city to properly and respectfully bury the babies.”
Affixed to the bottom of the letter were several specific questions regarding whether authorities would honor the request, and the lawmakers reiterated their demand for a proper burial for the victims.
Bowser’s office didn’t respond by press time to a request for comment. A Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that because the case remains under active investigation, the department is unable to discuss specifics.
The case is emerging as battle lines over abortion are being drawn across the nation, with many red states—which have remained opposed to the practice since Roe v. Wade restricted states’ right to bar it—approving or enacting “heartbeat bills,” which ban abortion once a child’s heartbeat becomes detectable.
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court, for its part, has shown a willingness to relax the standards laid out in Roe v. Wade, returning the power to regulate abortion to the states.
