Our executive director Herb Geraghty was arrested on Thursday, November 11, for speaking out against unethical fetal tissue research in California.
A statement from Herb:
As you know, our team has been working to expose and shut down unethical fetal tissue research projects across the country. Most recently our focus has been on the horrific experiments on the bodies of unborn babies up to 24 weeks happening in our hometown at the University of Pittsburgh.
However, Pitt is not alone in these gruesome practices. Institutions across the country are collaborating with the abortion industrial complex to ensure they have fresh "specimens" they can use in their research. One such institution is the University of California San Francisco (USCF). Check out this site from our friends at Pro-Life San Francisco for more information about their practices.
One roadblock to ending unethical fetal tissue research experiments across the country is that there is an entire industry with businesses that exist to profit off of this injustice. One major company involved in human tissue trafficking for medical experiments is the California-based Advanced Bioscience Resources. ABR has the distinction of being “the oldest continuously operating wholesaler of aborted fetal body parts in the United States.”
These companies exist solely to profit off of the misery and violence of abortion — that is why this past week we participated in an action to protest their unethical practices.
You can read about our protest as covered by Live Action News here.
Some important highlights from the article:
• UCSF receives millions of taxpayer dollars to conduct gruesome experiments involving fetal tissue and body parts. Past projects have included so-called “humanized mice” experiments.
• Many of the fetal body parts used in this “research” are obtained in-house from children aborted at the two UCSF-affiliated Women’s Options Center locations. However, records obtained by Pro-Life San Francisco have also revealed a longstanding relationship between ABR and UCSF.
• Obtained records include actual invoices and pricing information for aborted fetal remains including second-trimester liver, thymus, and pancreas organs, brain tissue, and heads.
• Prices paid for fetal parts range from $390-$20,000 — all subsidized by taxpayers.
The “research” conducted using these fetal parts has no unique medical or scientific benefit to humanity.
• “Contrary to popular belief, fetal tissue from induced abortions is not necessary for research and the development of medical treatments,” states Dr. Tara Sander Lee from the Charlotte Lozier Institute. “In fact, to date there have been no cures from abortion-derived human fetal tissue.”
What happened on November 11:
After a successful protest, several of us decided to head down to the actual place where many of these late-term abortions for medical research take place, Zuckerberg General Hospital. We set up on the sidewalk outside the hospital with signs and outreach materials with the intent to educate the community about the injustice happening right in their backyard.
Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes of dialoguing with hospital visitors and staff about the issue the police arrived and declared us an "unlawful assembly." Again, we were simply handing out literature and holding signs on a sidewalk outside a public hospital.
Five of us decided that we would not allow them to intimidate us out of exercising our first amendment rights and stayed despite their warnings. After about another half hour of handing out literature — we were arrested.
Thankfully, we were released relatively quickly and I am now free. Since my arrest, I have been reflecting on the experience, and there is one moment I keep coming back to. When we were outside the hospital, my friend Kristin Turner of Pro-Life SF was holding a fetal model and a pair of actual forceps to demonstrate to passersby what exactly takes place during the abortions that are performed inside. When she was arrested, the police took away everything in her hands and I heard one of the officers say that he had to take the forceps to a separate area because they were a "weapon."
In that moment, the dark irony of it all almost made me want to laugh. Inside that very building abortionists use that exact instrument to tear the body parts off of innocent children every single day and the police do nothing. Only when a young pro-life woman uses this tool to educate the community about the brutality occurring within those walls do the police recognize it as the weapon that it truly is.
Despite this setback, we will not stop working to defend the unborn children unjustly killed in abortion whose bodies are being exploited for medical research.
Upcoming events include:
• This Friday, I will be speaking at Live Action's Vigil Of Remembrance For The 2363 Lost To Abortion in Washington, DC.
• On December 1st, we will be joining with the entire pro-life movement calling on the Supreme Court to defend life outside the Supreme Court. Our Founder Aimee Murphy will be speaking at the official rally and we will be holding a mini Rehumanize Rally to Overturn Roe v. Wade to meet-up with our supporters at this historic event
• On December 11th, join our founder Aimee Murphy for a virtual painting session at our first-ever Rehumanize Paint Night Fundraiser
We are also in the middle of planning our 2022 March for Life and other January events, so please stay tuned and make sure you are following us @RehumanizeIntl on social media for updates.
Thank you so much for continuing to walk alongside us on this important mission.
Finally, I do want to remind you that a generous donor has awarded us an end-of-the-year matching grant. It is only with your help that we can keep sharing the message that every human being deserves to live free from aggressive violence, from conception to natural death. Please consider giving before the end of the month so that your impact can be doubled: