Latest news with #pro-mortalism
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Fox News
Video captures moment of deadly explosion at California fertility clinic
A newly released video shows the moment a car bomb detonated outside the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday. The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows the palm tree-lined building hit by a sudden blast followed by a towering plume of smoke. The exterior and interior parts of the fertility clinic were heavily damaged, including windows blown out and sections of the building's front facade destroyed. The blast resulted in the death of Guy Edward Bartkus, the 25-year-old suspect, and injured four others. Authorities are treating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism. Surveillance footage and online postings suggest Bartkus parked at the rear of the building, ingested drugs and then detonated an explosive device. The suspect, a resident of Twentynine Palms, reportedly held "pro-mortalism" beliefs and left behind writings expressing opposition to procreation. "Pro-mortalism," a radical offshoot of anti-natalism, views human reproduction as inherently immoral and embraces death as a moral corrective. Investigators said they believe Bartkus attempted to livestream the attack, and a tripod and camera were found at the scene. Despite significant damage to the clinic, all embryos and reproductive materials were preserved, and the facility has since resumed operations. "I received a call saying there was a massive explosion that destroyed a couple of our buildings. My biggest concern was obviously my staff and the embryos we have in storage," said Dr. Maher Abdallah, the clinic's director, after the attack. "Fortunately for us, our staff was unharmed and the IVF lab is intact, untouched, unharmed. The embryos are safe." Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday evening that she had been briefed on the explosion. "We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America," she said in a post on X. "Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable." Bomb technicians scoured the blast site over the weekend as part of the ongoing investigation, which was led by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Officials have said this is the first high-profile case linked to the pro-mortalist ideology and are now monitoring it as a potential emerging threat. Authorities have urged families and communities to remain vigilant for signs of ideological extremism, especially among those who may feel disenfranchised. As the investigation into the bombing continues, law enforcement is probing whether anyone assisted or encouraged the suspect in constructing the device.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Telegraph
A ‘pro-mortalist' burned down an IVF clinic – there are fears the movement is on the rise
As a child, Guy Edward Bartkus enjoyed playing with smoke bombs and model rockets, and once managed to burn down his family home with a box of matches. On Saturday, authorities believe the 25-year-old blew himself up with a car bomb in Palm Springs, California, outside a fertility clinic. Following the blast, which killed Bartkus and injured four other people, investigators unearthed writing online and what appears to be an audio manifesto justifying the attack, in which he describes himself as a 'pro-mortalist'. He appeared to subscribe to an ideology that humans should cease to exist to prevent future suffering, and that having children is fundamentally immoral because they could not consent to being born. Richard Bartkus, 75, the father of the suspect, has said that he believed the voice on the recording belonged to his son and suggested he had been 'brainwashed' from spending time online. Pro-mortalism is a 'twisted belief system that is anti-life', said Brian Levin, founder of the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. It primarily promotes suicide rather than terrorist attacks among its adherents, Mr Levin said, adding the 'philosophy itself is dangerous because it promotes the devaluation of life'. He said it was one of a number of fringe movements on dark corners of the internet that is infecting young men. Bartkus appeared to have posted a 30-minute recording online shortly before the attack, which begins with the words: 'I figured I would just make a recording explaining why I've decided to bomb an IVF building or clinic.' 'Basically, it just comes down to, I'm angry that I exist, and that's, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here,' he continued, and compared the act of being born to raping an unconscious woman. He compared life to 'slavery to a DNA molecule' and declared himself sickened by 'so much wasted suffering' in the world. 'When you see innocent creatures getting completely f—d by life, you know, I'm not just talking humans, but even animals, right? How the hell can you sit there and call that an intelligent design?' said the 25-year-old, who was a vegan and seemingly used the username 'IndictEvolution' online. 'Parents were the real killers by creating life' Openly admitting he would cause 'death' and 'destruction' by bombing the fertility clinic, he declared in vitro fertilisation (IVF) was 'the epitome of pro-life ideology' and said: 'F— IVF, f— IVF clinics, and f— the people that work for them.' 'I'm only doing this because I feel like it's what I have to do to get people's f—ing attention and to let the world know, like, yes, I'm f—ing serious about this s—,' he continued. Parents were 'the real killers' by creating life in the first place, he said, arguing: 'All the pro-mortalist is saying is like, hey, let's make it, let's make the death thing happen sooner rather than later in life, right? We're just changing the date at which it happened.' The FBI said the explosion, which took place about 11am on Saturday morning, was the largest bombing ever in southern California. Although the bombing heavily damaged the clinic, authorities managed to rescue the medical records and embryos of patients who were trying to conceive. The online cult is an off-shoot of anti-natalism — the belief that it is always immoral to have children, Prof Levin said. 'There's a glorification of the dark side of the world and this blends into a nihilistic viewpoint,' he said, explaining that the group exists 'on the dark side of the dark web'. Anti-natalists on online forums sought to distance themselves from pro-mortalism in the wake of the attack. 'We empathise with suffering, we don't seek to cause suffering. If you have pro-mortalist thoughts and beliefs, then kindly direct yourself out of this sub,' one account wrote on Reddit. Prof Levin said the attack showed how the internet had allowed a range of extremist ideologies to proliferate. 'We look at multiple examples of young males, 17 to 25 ,who lash out against what they see as a degrading world. Sometimes it's done to stand for racial supremacy or nationalism,' he said. 'In this case though, he [Bartkus] boiled it down to the most central crux of his existence, which is that he had an unhappy and despaired life. 'It's a philosophy that says suicide is actually purposeful and accomplishing something beneficial for the world.' Bartkus is said to have posted videos of homemade explosive devices on multiple social media accounts, a law enforcement source told ABC News. An archived account shows videos dating back six years of what appeared to be tests of homemade explosive devices. YouTube has since deleted the channels because they are 'associated with the suspect'. Richard Bartkus told The New York Times he had not spoken with his son in 10 years, and recalled him as enjoying tinkering with small model rockets and 'stink bombs' and 'smoke bombs'. In September 2009, aged nine, he said he son was placed on juvenile probation after lighting the family home on fire while playing with matches
Fox News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber documented plans in chilling online posts before attack
Authorities have identified the perpetrator behind the weekend bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, as a 26-year-old suspect motivated by a fringe ideology known as "pro-mortalism." "Pro-mortalism," a radical offshoot of anti-natalism, views human reproduction as inherently immoral and embraces death as a moral corrective. According to federal and local law enforcement, the suspect targeted the American Reproductive Centers facility specifically to destroy human embryos stored on-site. Surveillance footage and online postings suggest he parked in the rear of the building to remain unnoticed, ingested drugs, and then detonated an explosive device – killing himself in the process. The FBI has classified the bombing as an act of domestic terrorism, citing the ideological motivation behind the violence that killed the suspect and injured four others. On its Facebook page, American Reproductive Centers wrote that all embryos "are safe." "I received a call saying there was a massive explosion that destroyed a couple of our buildings. My biggest concern was obviously my staff and the embryos we have in storage," said Dr. Maher Abdallah, the clinic's director. "Fortunately for us, our staff was unharmed and the IVF lab is intact, untouched, unharmed. The embryos are safe." Retired NYPD investigator and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, through his publication Ops Desk, exclusively uncovered a disturbing trail of digital breadcrumbs left by the suspect, who had posted videos documenting his experiments with homemade explosives. The videos, posted on his YouTube channel but now taken down, captured the alleged suspect testing explosives in the desert as well as what appeared to be a garage. WATCH: The Ops Desk also revealed that he left behind a suicide note on an online forum populated by like-minded extremists. "I have made a 'device' that, once triggered, will activate after one hour and will ensure I never wake up again," he wrote. In another post, he wrote about "finally being gone." He shared that he would mix the bomb materials "in a bucket in my car." Officials have said that it is the first high-profile case linked to the pro-mortalist ideology and are now monitoring it as a potential emerging threat. Authorities have urged families and communities to remain vigilant for signs of ideological extremism, especially among those who may feel disenfranchised. As the investigation into the bombing continues, law enforcement is probing whether anyone else assisted or encouraged the suspect in constructing the device.
Fox News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Palm Beach fertility clinic bomber documented plans in chilling online posts before attack
Authorities have identified the perpetrator behind the weekend bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Beach, California, as a 26-year-old suspect motivated by a fringe ideology known as "pro-mortalism." "Pro-mortalism," a radical offshoot of anti-natalism, views human reproduction as inherently immoral and embraces death as a moral corrective. According to federal and local law enforcement, the suspect targeted the American Reproductive Centers facility specifically to destroy human embryos stored on-site. Surveillance footage and online postings suggest he parked in the rear of the building to remain unnoticed, ingested drugs, and then detonated an explosive device – killing himself in the process. The FBI has classified the bombing as an act of domestic terrorism, citing the ideological motivation behind the violence that killed the suspect and injured four others. On its Facebook page, American Reproductive Centers wrote that all embryos "are safe." "I received a call saying there was a massive explosion that destroyed a couple of our buildings. My biggest concern was obviously my staff and the embryos we have in storage," said Dr. Maher Abdallah, the clinic's director. "Fortunately for us, our staff was unharmed and the IVF lab is intact, untouched, unharmed. The embryos are safe." Retired NYPD investigator and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, through his publication Ops Desk, exclusively uncovered a disturbing trail of digital breadcrumbs left by the suspect, who had posted videos documenting his experiments with homemade explosives. The videos, posted on his YouTube channel but now taken down, captured the alleged suspect testing explosives in the desert as well as what appeared to be a garage. The Ops Desk also revealed that he left behind a suicide note on an online forum populated by like-minded extremists. "I have made a 'device' that, once triggered, will activate after one hour and will ensure I never wake up again," he wrote. "The reason for the hour delay after being triggered is that I want to be asleep once it activates. I attempted with it last night in the middle of the desert, but my drug combo failed to force me to sleep as I am not experienced with drugs in general. I took 120mg of codeine (4x #3 codeine tablets) and 15ml of promethazine (would have taken more but that's all I had)." "Any ideas what might be a good combo that would make it impossible for me to stay awake? I don't really have access to anything besides codeine, alcohol, and basic things like Benadryl & Nyquil. Nyquil does tend to make me very tired. I still have a good amount of codeine left, (5x #3 codeine tablets and also some codeine cough syrup)." In another post, he wrote about "finally being gone." He shared that he would mix the bomb materials "in a bucket in my car." "I want the reaction to progress rapidly, but not so rapid that it foams out of the bucket. I do want foaming, just not overflow. The amount is 900 ml of 95% formic acid (0.95 g/ml) and probably around 1200 ml of sulfuric acid," he wrote. "The heated sulfuric acid will be at around 70 C, and if when I pour that in, it foams too much, I will mix in a bit of the room temp stuff to cool it down a bit." "You probably get the idea. Should work good enough. I'll be wearing a half-piece respirator with 3M acid gas cartridges to mitigate breathing in formic acid fumes (sulfuric not an issue, vapor pressure is low). If there's enough of it vaporizing, it may affect my eyes and maybe even skin, but l'll just close my eyes. If it affects my skin, oh well, I'll be passed out very quick anyways, and I'll be on opiates." WATCH: Officials have said that it is the first high-profile case linked to the pro-mortalist ideology and are now monitoring it as a potential emerging threat. Authorities have urged families and communities to remain vigilant for signs of ideological extremism, especially among those who may feel disenfranchised. As the investigation into the bombing continues, law enforcement is probing whether anyone else assisted or encouraged the suspect in constructing the device.
