Five fetuses found in a home in Washington DC weWhich allegedly belonged to an anti-abortion activist according to the police.
Lauren Handy, 28, is one of the leaders of the Progressive Anti-abortion Rebellion (PAAU) group and describes herself as a “Catholic anarchist.”
Police said they were investigating a “potentially bio-hazardous material” when the embryos were found.
In another case, Handy was convicted on Wednesday of forcibly being taken to an abortion clinic in 2020.
Investigators had photographed him outside the address, removing items from the basement in bags and coolers. He told local news site WUSA9 that “people will know” what was inside the confiscated containers.
Washington police said they could not confirm whether the home where the embryos were found actually belonged to Handy. However, two police officers told the Washington Post that the residence was where Handy was arrested and that he was or had lived.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything criminal about it except how they got into this house,” Ashan Benedict, executive assistant to the Washington DC police chief, told a news conference.
Handy recently claimed to have gained “access” to a bank of fetal tissue and organs at the University of Washington in Seattle, but the school said nothing was taken there.
According to the separate federal indictment, Handy made an appointment for October 22, 2020 at an abortion clinic named Hazel Jenkins, Washington Sergi-Clinic, saying she wanted to have the procedure. But when she arrived, a group “forcibly broke into the clinic,” prosecutors say, knocking down an employee who injured her ankle.
Upon indictment, Handy and eight other members of the group were charged with conspiracy to harm, harass, threaten and intimidate patients and staff, violating their federal rights to seek and provide reproductive health services.
They have also been accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Admission (FACE) Act by using force to interfere with clinic services.
If convicted, each could face up to 11 years in prison and a fine of up to US$350,000.
