Anti-abortion activists are offering $25,000 to any employee who testifies under oath about how allegedly illegal abortion procedures were conducted.
Members of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising rallied outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic on Wednesday following two days of protests and rallies in response to the leaked Politico report indicating the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that legalized abortions nationwide. PAAU leaders demanded an investigation into more than 100 fetuses that the group obtained in March, claiming they were all victims of illegal late-term abortions.
“Abortion providers who routinely break the law will often try to rope their employees into these activities. They believe you will be frightened about detection and prosecution or have misplaced loyalty to help them cover up their crimes,” PAAU said in a statement. “You do not have to be an accomplice. We want to help you bring justice and peace to your own life and to the possible victims.”
The rally on Wednesday attracted both anti-abortion protesters and abortion rights activists, with several approaching each other and chanting in protest.
ANTI-ABORTION GROUP DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO MORE THAN 100 FOUND FETAL REMAINS
Washington Surgi-Clinic has been at the center of controversy concerning alleged crimes committed by Dr. Cesare Santangelo, an obstetrician-gynecologist who PAAU members argue performed illegal abortion procedures on more than 100 fetuses.
Group leaders Terrisa Bukovinac and Lauren Handy reportedly collected the remains from a driver who was loading a waste services truck with boxes, discovering the fetuses inside. However, the Maryland-based company denied that one of its workers gave them the box, noting that transportation of fetal remains is against company policy.
About 110 of the fetuses in the box were aborted early in the gestational process, with another five that appeared to be late-term, according to Handy and Bukovinac. The pair arranged burials for the 110 fetuses in a private cemetery, keeping five late-term fetuses to be examined by pathologists, who determined they appeared to have been viable.
In its efforts to bring criminal charges, the PAAU showed photos of the aborted fetuses to protesters in front of the Washington Surgi-Clinic on Wednesday and said they are “complicit” if they do not share the images.
“If anyone asks you to shred documents or otherwise destroy evidence related to babies being born alive or partial birth procedures please wait,” the group wrote. “The truth always comes out and you can be part of that. Once again we are offering a $25,000 reward to the person who will testify under oath as to the crimes Cesare Santangelo has committed.”
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The Metropolitan Police Department initiated an investigation into whether there are grounds for a criminal case, but officers told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday there have no been updates in the case.