Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- The House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives has announced that it has made a total of 15 criminal referrals based on its investigation into the underground trade in aborted baby organs and tissue. Six of the referral letters were just released late yesterday, while nine others had been previously made public.

Among the new criminal referral letters issued by Select Investigative Panel Chair Marsha Blackburn were two made against Texas late-term abortionist Douglas Karpen to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas Attorney General's office seeking further investigation and appropriate action.

In 2012, Operation Rescue began acquiring evidence against Karpen from his former employees. That evidence included photographs depicting the bodies of two infants that were clearly in their third trimester of pregnancy, which were said to have been aborted by Karpen. Those photos were provided directly to Operation Rescue in November 2012, by the former Karpen employee who took them with her cell phone. They depicted wounds that could not have occurred while the baby was still inside the womb.

Blackburn referenced those photographs in both criminal referral letters against Karpen. She quoted from witness affidavits that described how Karpen killed late-term babies who were born alive during abortions at his Houston abortion facilities at a rate of three to four per week.  Methods included twisting or slashing necks with instruments and pressing his finger though the "soft spot" on top of a baby's head.

In addition to referring Karpen for further investigation for homicide, the Select Investigative Panel is seeking investigations into other crimes that may have been committed by Karpen, falsifying ultrasound results, failing to hire adequate staff or properly sanitize instruments, and Medicaid fraud.

"The criminal referrals of Karpen to the Department of Justice and Texas Attorney General validate our efforts over the past three years to bring this late-term abortionist to justice," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "The issuance of the referrals completely repudiates the actions of Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, who committed a gross injustice by protecting Karpen from accountability. May justice finally be done!"

Read Operation Rescue's full story on this development.

Read all criminal referral letters released by the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.

Read Operation Rescue's Special Report on its own 2012-2013 investigation of Douglas Karpen (Includes photos referenced by the Select Investigative Panel.)

About Operation Rescue®  
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