More than 50 Republican lawmakers have urged acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate the circumstances surrounding the recovery of five sets of fetal remains in Washington, D.C., in 2022, including whether any federal crimes were committed, according to a letter publicized by Rep. Chris Smith’s office and reported by The Daily Wire.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) are among the signatories of a letter that asks Blanche to “comprehensively investigate” the deaths of five “preborn children” whose remains were recovered by the Metropolitan Police Department in 2022 after activists turned them over to authorities, according to the letter shared by Smith’s office. (chrissmith.house.gov)
In the letter, lawmakers ask the Justice Department to determine whether the deaths involved crimes such as infanticide or violations of the federal ban on so-called “partial-birth abortion,” and they request that evidence be preserved and that autopsies be conducted. The letter also says the remains are in the custody of the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. (chrissmith.house.gov)
The five sets of remains became public in late March 2022, when D.C. police recovered them from a residence where anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy was staying. Police said at the time they were responding to a tip about potential biohazard material, and Handy’s group, Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, said it had contacted police so the remains could be examined. (washingtonpost.com)
Handy and fellow activist Terrisa Bukovinac said they obtained a box of fetal remains from outside Washington Surgi-Clinic, which they have linked to physician Cesare Santangelo. A medical-waste company named by the activists publicly denied that an employee gave any packages to the group, saying all materials picked up that day were delivered to its facility. (washingtonpost.com)
District officials said in April 2022 that the medical examiner had no plans at that time to perform autopsies because the remains appeared to have been aborted in accordance with D.C. law, though officials said the decision could change if new information emerged. D.C. police also said the matter remained under investigation and that no arrests had been made related to the recovery of the remains. (washingtonpost.com)
