WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., joined U.S. Senator James Lankford, R-Okla, in calling for an investigation into the reported death of five babies in Washington, D.C., who were discovered at a D.C. building last week. The letter, which was sent to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Robert Contee called for an autopsy, since evidence suggests one or more of the babies may have lost their life through an illegal partial-birth abortion or may have been born alive.

“Last week, DC Metropolitan Police recovered the remains of five preborn children apparently from the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, DC, a facility operated by the late-term abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo,” the Senators wrote. “Instead of ensuring that the horrific deaths of these children were properly investigated, Metropolitan Police made the assumption that each child died as the result of a legal abortion. It is our understanding that this assumption was made without conducting any medical evaluations. We also understand from press reports that the DC medical examiner does not plan to perform autopsies on the children. This is completely unacceptable.”

“These five children, like all children, have inherent value and deserved better than abortion—they deserved life. But at a minimum, they deserve to have their deaths investigated to ensure that no DC or federal laws were broken,” the Senators continued. “In light of this, we demand that a thorough investigation is conducted into the death of each child. In order to accomplish such investigation, we request and fully expect the city to preserve all of the children’s remains as evidence and conduct autopsies. Finally, at the conclusion of such examinations, we urge the city to properly and respectfully bury the babies.”

In addition to Wicker and Lankford, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Bruan, R-Ind., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Boozman, R-Ark., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, led a companion letter in the House of Representatives.