Group claims fetuses in DC home proof of illegal abortions

Apr 5, 2022, 3:42 PM | Updated: 4:22 pm

Anti-abortion activists Lauren Handy, front, with Terrisa Bukovinac, from left, Jonathan Darnell, a...

Anti-abortion activists Lauren Handy, front, with Terrisa Bukovinac, from left, Jonathan Darnell, and Randall Terry, speak during a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Police found five fetuses in the home of Lauren Handy, a self-proclaimed "anti-abortion activist" who was indicted this week on federal charges alleging that she was part of a group of people who blocked access to a Washington, reproductive health center. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — An anti-abortion group said Tuesday that the five fetuses found last week in a member’s home came from the medical waste being disposed by a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic.

The group, known as the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, claimed it contacted the police to collect the fetuses in hopes that an autopsy would prove that the clinic was conducting federally illegal late-stage abortions.

The claims during a Tuesday press conference shed light on a case that first came to public attention last week, when the Metropolitan Police Department removed five aborted fetuses from the home of Lauren Handy, a longtime anti-abortion rights activist. Police removed the fetuses one day after Handy and eight others were charged with blocking access to an abortion clinic in 2020.

Handy told reporters Tuesday that she and another group member approached a driver who was loading sealed boxes of medical waste from the Washington Surgi-Clinic into his truck. They persuaded the driver to let them take one of the waist-high boxes. Inside, they said, they found more than 100 fetuses from early-stage abortions, and five fetuses from what they claim are late-stage abortions that violate federal law.

The group showed several minutes of gruesome footage, with them opening the box and removing several fetuses with well-developed limbs and facial features. Late-stage and third-trimester abortions are legal in the District of Columbia. The group maintains they might be a violation of federal law under the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Act.

“We are demanding that the D.C. police conduct an investigation of the deaths of these babies, including a thorough autopsy,” said Terrisa Bukovinac, PAAU’s executive director.

The D.C. medical examiner’s office has, so far, declined to perform any autopsies on the fetuses. Ashan Benedict, MPD’s executive assistant chief of police, told reporters last week that the fetuses appeared to have been aborted “in accordance with D.C. law.”

Handy said she kept the fetuses “under my stewardship” in her home while she and Bukovinac tried to find an independent pathologist to perform an autopsy. But Bukovinac said that proved difficult because the doctors they contacted were “unwilling to get involved.”

Finally they called the MPD to retrieve the fetuses. During the two-day span while they were waiting, federal charges against Handy and eight other people were handed down for blockading the entrance to a clinic that performs abortions.

The D.C. medical examiner’s office and the MPD both declined to comment Tuesday, with the police saying the case “remains under active investigation.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              Randall Terry, with anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy, right, and Jonathan Darnell, left, speaks during a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
            
              Anti-abortion activists Lauren Handy, front, with Terrisa Bukovinac, from left, Jonathan Darnell, and Randall Terry, speak during a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Police found five fetuses in the home of Lauren Handy, a self-proclaimed "anti-abortion activist" who was indicted this week on federal charges alleging that she was part of a group of people who blocked access to a Washington, reproductive health center. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

AP

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)...

Associated Press

Donald Trump stored, showed off and refused to return classified documents, indictment says

An indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents has been unsealed.

2 days ago

FILE - A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in A...

Associated Press

Ruff day in court: Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniel’s in dispute with makers of dog toy

The Supreme Court on Thursday gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel's reason to raise a glass, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of the Bad Spaniels dog toy.

3 days ago

(Pixabay Photo)...

Associated Press

6 arrested in alleged scheme to fraudulently collect millions in COVID aid meant for renters

Six people from Washington, Arizona and Texas have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid from an assistance program meant for renters, federal prosecutors said.

3 days ago

FILE - Protesters stand outside of the Senate chamber at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 22, 2023, i...

Associated Press

LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning

The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday.

5 days ago

FILE - People wait in line outside the Supreme Court in Washington to listen to oral arguments in a...

Associated Press

Supreme Court opened the door to states’ voting restrictions. Now a new ruling could widen them.

Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law that had been on hold.

5 days ago

Gavel (Pexels Photo)...

Associated Press

Ex-teacher sentenced to prison for making death threat against Arizona legislator

A former Tucson middle school teacher was sentenced Tuesday to 2 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty to making a death threat against Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers.

5 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Group claims fetuses in DC home proof of illegal abortions