GOP lawmakers are calling on Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Robert Contee, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate reports of possible late-term abortions at a clinic in the nation’s capital.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) was joined by 17 Republican senators and five Republican House members in sending a letter demanding an investigation into the deaths.
The case centers on the discovery of the remains of five fully-formed, potentially viable babies who were aborted.
The Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) says the babies’ bodies reportedly came from the Washington Surgi-Clinic. The pro-life group somehow gained possession of the remains, and they say the bodies show signs of partial-birth abortion, which is illegal in the District of Columbia.
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The lawmakers are calling for an autopsy to determine if that’s true.
“Last week, DC Metropolitan Police recovered the remains of five preborn children apparently from the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, DC, a facility operated by the late-term abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo. 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 Metropolitan Police made this assumption without conducting any medical evaluations,” the members of Congress said in the letter.
“We also understand from press reports that the DC medical examiner does not plan to perform autopsies on the children. This is completely unacceptable,” the lawmakers said.
“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 DC 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,” the members continued.
The letter was signed by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Crapo (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Boozman (R-AR), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Joni Ernst (R-IA).
Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Chris Smith (R-NJ) also signed on.
You can read the full text of the letter HERE.
In addition to the letter, the members also sent the list of seven questions, listed below, for Mayor Bowser and Chief Contee to answer by the close of business on Wednesday:
1. As you are aware partial-birth abortion, as defined in 18 US Code § 1531 is illegal and punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. How did the Metropolitan Police reach the conclusion while recovering the remains of each child that all of the children died as the result of a legal abortion?
2. In order to ensure that no child was subjected to a partial birth abortion and that no child was born alive and left to die, will you commit to conducting a thorough investigation of the death of each child?
3. As part of such investigation, will you commit to ensuring the preservation of each child’s remains for appropriate examination during the investigation?
4. Will you direct the Chief Medical Examiner to perform an autopsy on each child to determine the method and cause of death in accordance with § 5–1405 of DC Code?
5. Will you direct a subsequent autopsy to be completed by an independent, licensed pathologist to confirm the findings of the Chief Medical Examiner?
6. If an autopsy suggests any of the children were victims of criminal activity, will you immediately refer the evidence to both the Department of Justice and the Attorney General for the District of Columbia for criminal prosecution?
7. Will you commit to properly and respectfully burying each child?
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