Priests for Life is among the organizations sponsoring a #JusticeForTheFive rally at noon tomorrow, Friday, April 8, in front of the office of the Medical Examiner for Washington, D.C. Pro-life activists are demanding that autopsies be performed on five late-term babies whose bodies were removed from a D.C. abortion business.
"The last thing the abortion industry and its political supporters want is for the very thing they sell to be exposed to the light of day. They defend abortion but will never describe it,” said Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life.
“The truth of what happened to these babies should not be hidden in denial. That would be an irresponsible approach. Now that these bodies have been discovered, let's discover exactly how they were killed. Let's have the strength to defend the rule of law."
The Washington Surgi-Clinic aborts babies until the end of the 27th week of pregnancy. The activists who removed the bodies of the babies from the center, and physicians they consulted, believe some of them show signs of having been killed in a partial-birth abortion, a procedure that is prohibited by federal law. They also believe one or more of the babies may have been born alive.
When the babies were taken from the home of a pro-life activist, the Metropolitan Police made the determination that they had been killed by legal abortion, but pro-lifers – and 23 Republican U.S. Senators – question that assertion.
In a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Robert Contee, Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said, “Instead of ensuring that the horrific deaths of these children were properly investigated, Metropolitan Police assumed that each child died as the result of a legal abortion.
“It is our understanding that this assumption was made 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.” Lankford’s letter was co-signed by 22 colleagues.
Priests for Life Youth Outreach Director Bryan Kemper will act as the facilitator at tomorrow’s rally and will offer remarks.
“There is no reason for the Medical Examiner to refuse to perform these autopsies, other than to cover up what might have been illegal abortions,” Kemper said. “These babies deserve to have the truth about their deaths known. We also want the city to release these bodies to faith leaders so they can be afforded the dignity of a funeral and burial.”
The Medical Examiner’s office is at 401 E St SW, Washington, D.C.
Rally sponsors include the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution; Created Equal and Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.