5 fetuses found inside DC home of anti-abortion activist
WASHINGTON - Five fetuses were found in a D.C. home of a self-proclaimed "anti-abortion activist" after a tip lead to the shocking discovery, according to authorities.
D.C. police said the fetuses were discovered on Wednesday in a home located in the 400 block of 6th Street SE, just blocks away from Capitol Hill.
Officers were called to the scene to investigate a tip about "potential bio-hazard materials" at the house, according to officials. The five fetuses were collected by the D.C. Chief Medical Examiner's Office as detectives continue their investigation.
WUSA9, reported that the home belonged to Lauren Handy.
The 28-year-old was one of nine people charged in an indictment that was made public on Wednesday that accused the group of traveling to Washington, blocking access to the reproductive health center and streaming it on Facebook.
The station said Handy told a reporter that "people will freak out when they hear" what detectives found inside her house. Handy did not respond to a message sent to her Facebook profile seeking comment.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Handy had called the clinic pretending to be a prospective patient and scheduling an appointment. Once there, on Oct. 22, 2020, eight of the suspects pushed their way inside and began blocking the doors, according to the indictment.
Five of them chained themselves together on chairs to block the treatment area as others blocked the employee entrance to stop other patients from coming inside, the indictment alleges. Another suspect blocked people from coming into the waiting room, prosecutors charge.
Handy and the eight others were charged with conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The federal law, more commonly known as the FACE Act, prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.