On Wednesday, February 14, representatives from Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC), and Students for Life Action (SFLA) were joined by congressional representatives Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Bob Good (R-Va.), Pat Fallon (R-Texas), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) at a press conference in Washington, D.C. The press conference discussed the current status of, and reasons for, organized efforts to secure justice for five children aborted at advanced gestational ages who were recovered by Lauren Handy and Terrisa Bukovinac outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic in March of 2022.
According to medical experts, the bodies of these five babies – given the names Christopher X, Harriet, Angel, Holly, and Phoenix by the activists who found them – may present evidence that federal crimes have been committed by Cesare Santangelo, the abortionist who killed them. However, D.C. authorities have neglected to investigate the babies’ deaths, choosing instead to investigate the activists who brought the children’s brutal murders to the attention of the public.
DC5 Congressional Press Conference https://t.co/R1C1IrC85N
— PAAU (@PAAUNOW) February 14, 2024
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly ordered the D.C. Medical Examiner to destroy the babies’ bodies. This launched a coalition effort to protect the bodies of the children, often referred to as “the D.C. Five.” This effort has been successful – at least for now.
Representative Chip Roy was the first to speak at this morning’s press conference. He emphasized that “we have laws on the books” which prohibit “barbaric practices” like dilation and extraction (D&X), also known as “partial-birth abortion,” and infanticide. The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 declared D&X procedures to be a federal crime, while the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 was designed to protect abortion survivors from infanticide. Medical experts have suggested that some of the D.C. five may have been killed by D&X procedures, while others might have been born alive and left to die without medical care.
“The D.C. Five abortion case is horrifying, period,” said Representative Andy Biggs, who was next to speak. “We must discover what happened and hold those individuals accountable,” he urged, adding, “The DOJ’s effort to dispose of these bodies without conducting an investigation is simply malpractice, and it is wrong.… We need hearings. We need proper burial for these children. We need to respect their lives.”
Representative Bob Good was next to speak. “The very law enforcement tasked with protecting the most vulnerable in our society has become complicit in covering up the cold-blooded murder of these precious lives,” he said. “We’re calling for transparency [about] how these babies were killed. The American people should know that federal law was broken right here in Washington, D.C. in these tragic cases.”
Representative Pat Fallon, who spoke next, noted: “We’re here to stick up for those who don’t have a voice. … Soon after the discovery of the remains, congressional Republicans in 2022 cried out and demanded autopsies and an investigation. Fast forward: no autopsies, no investigation. You have to ask yourself, why? Are we a country that has a rule of law or not? Does the Justice Department actually dispense justice?” He added, “These are murders…. And yet, nothing’s been done…. It’s high time Congress conducts its own investigation.”
Representative Chris Smith reminded his audience of the case of notorious abortionist and convicted murderer, Kermit Gosnell. “There are Kermit Gosnells all over America – predators, child abusers, exploiters of women,” he said. “Will Americans ever be told the horrifying details as to how, and how often, abortionists dismember, decapitate, and chemically poison innocent babies?” he asked. “Don’t destroy the evidence. No cover-ups. We demand justice.”
Terrisa Bukovinac described finding the D.C. Five as “the most viscerally heartbreaking experience that I have ever had.” She described public awareness of the horrors these babies experienced as having “so much power that it can change the course of history forever,” just as images of Emmett Till once shocked our nation into demanding equal civil rights for Black Americans.
Penny Nance, President and CEO of CWALAC, described the cause of justice for the D.C. five as both “a left and right issue.” “If you believe in human rights,” she said, “you need to understand what happened and stand with us today.”
Speakers also included Rep. Anna Paulina Luna; Jamie Dangers, Legislative Director for SBA; and Savanna Deretich, Government Affairs Coordinator for SFLA.
