Police discovered five fetuses at the residence of an anti-abortion rights activist indicted in correlation with a blockade at a reproductive health care clinic in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
According to Washington police, the fetuses were discovered after a tip was provided “regarding potential bio-hazard material” at the residence where Lauren Handy was revealed to be staying. An investigation is being conducted, and the fetuses have been turned over to the medical examiner’s office.
WUSA-TV reported that Handy stated outside the residence on Wednesday that she anticipated the raid to take place “sooner or later.” According to the station, Handy, who refused to speak on camera, said “people would freak out when they heard” what was in the evidence containers being collected by authorities.
Handy, 28, is one of nine anti-abortion rights activists charged by the Justice Department on Wednesday with conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, also known as the FACE Act.
According to an unsealed indictment, she posed as “Hazel Jenkins” in October 2020 and claimed to be trying to seek assistance from a Washington reproductive care clinic. According to the indictment, the incident was livestreamed on Facebook.
Handy and others are accused of breaking into the clinic and barricading the entryways.
The indictment also claims that the defendants violated the FACE Act by using a physical obstruction to injure, terrorize, and impede clinic employees and a patient “while they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services.”
