South Cook News

The gruesome discovery of more than 2,000 aborted fetal remains in the home of a recently deceased Crete, Illinois, abortion doctor has prompted a predictably strong reaction from conservative activists and religious leaders.

Richard L. Martinez Jr., a 2015 City Council candidate for Chicago’s 10th Ward, is also the pastor at Nehemiah Family Fellowship Church. He said the truth surrounding the case is still murky.

“Only a thorough investigation will be able to determine if trafficking was taking place,” Martinez said in a statement emailed to the North Cook News.

Richard L. Martinez Jr. | Nehemiah Family Fellowship Church

The news broke Sept. 14 when the Will County Sheriff's Department told reporters that family members of abortionist Dr. Ulrich Klopfer alerted the coroner about the remains.

The attorneys general for both Illinois and Indiana, where Klopfer's clinics were located, will likely be pursuing the case.

“I certainly do not have faith in the Illinois side, as the AG is a supporter of abortion,” Martinez said.

The discovery points out a rarely discussed side issue related to abortion: If the remains are not sold, as was alleged in a Planned Parenthood case a few years back, where are they properly disposed of?

Martinez said stronger oversight of abortion clinics is needed. In the meantime, he’s relying on his faith to help him make sense of the ordeal, noting that the Christian Bible’s Ten Commandments state, “Thou shalt not kill.”

“America has a heart problem, it has a sexual immorality problem, it has a sin problem,” Martinez said. “Jesus is a loving, forgiving and merciful God, but the blood of over 60,000,000 babies being killed in this nation is crying out for justice. The Lord will not be mocked and He will execute His justice.”