The Los Angeles fetus disposal scandal was the 1982 discovery of over 16,000 aborted fetuses being improperly stored at Malvin Weisberg's Woodland Hills, California, home and the ensuing legal battle regarding their disposal. It was called a "national tragedy" by then-president Ronald Reagan and inspired a song by pop singer Pat Boone, with the fetuses finally buried in 1985. No criminal charges were filed against any of the parties involved. Weisberg had stored the specimens properly but had not disposed of them due to financial difficulties.
Discovery
Malvin Weisberg had operated Medical Analytic Laboratories in Santa Monica from 1976 until March 1981. He purchased a 20-foot (6.1 m) storage container in 1980, delivering it to his Woodland Hills home and paying for it with a bounced check for $1700. The container was repossessed on February 3, 1982, by the Martin Container Company, based in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. The company opened the container on the following day, discovering the fetuses, which were stored in formaldehyde.
The initial press conference, on February 5, 1982, by the Los Angeles County Health Department said up to 500 fetuses were found. On February 24, 1982, the count of fetuses was raised to approximately 2000, with the majority of them being from the storage container and 200–300 from Weisberg's garage.
The tally of fetuses was estimated at "up to 17,000" in May 1982, and was later finally set at 16,431. A count of 193 fetuses were evidently over 20 weeks' gestation, with the oldest almost 30 weeks.
State law required the fetuses to be cremated or buried "within a reasonable time".
Source and age of the fetuses
The fetuses resulted from pregnancies terminated by licensed physicians, clinics and hospitals who contracted with Medical Analytic Laboratories for pathology testing and disposal of the fetuses.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney, John Van de Kamp, said the fetuses would be individually examined and charges would be filed against the doctors if fetuses were over the 20-week gestation limit allowed by California law at the time. Officials found 193 fetuses that appeared to be over the 20-week limit. Van de Kamp wanted to turn the remaining fetuses over to groups who would perform memorial services for them.
In May 1982, California Attorney General George Deukmejian stated the gestation limit of the 1967 California abortion law was considered unenforceable because of conflicts with the 23-week Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, but fetuses could be individually examined to determine viability, which was the legal limit. In late May, Van de Kamp stated every fetus would be examined to determine if the fetus was aborted illegally.
Legal action
In 1982 President Ronald Reagan wrote a letter advocating for memorial services "for these children", referring to it as "this national tragedy".
The matter came in front of the judge because of a lawsuit filed against Van de Kamp by Carol Downer of the Los Angeles Feminist Women's Health Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. John Lynch, the chief deputy county counsel stated it was inappropriate to enjoin Van de Kamp, who was simply a "man in the middle", and that the lawsuit should be filed against abortion rights groups instead. In June 1982, Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Dickran Tevrizian issued a temporary restraining order against Van de Kamp to prevent the unconstitutional release of the fetuses to groups for burial, but allowed him to legally dispose of the fetuses, called "vague" by John Lynch, the chief deputy county counsel.
In October 1982, Van de Kamp petitioned the court to allow the burial of all but the 193 late-term fetuses in common graves at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, which offered free burial. The fetuses were not buried at Valhalla, which later stated it offered the burial plot because "the right-to-life groups came to us, and we said we wouldn't endorse any political viewpoint, but we thought that interring the bodies was a proper thing to do as a service".
In December 1982, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Eli Chernow ruled the 20-week limit was unconstitutional, also ruling that Van de Kamp could bury the fetuses and anti-abortion groups could hold onsite memorial services.
By July 1983, the district attorney was Robert Philibosian, who stated he preferred a "dignified burial" and would not file charges.