Abortion victim's funeral delayed

A funeral for a baby girl found dead at a Hialeah, Fla., abortion business has been postponed, after plans had been made and two ministers were prepared to officiate, because the state still may need the body for evidence in what may yet end up being a criminal case over her death.

"It's a baby case,'' Assistant State Attorney Herbert E. Walker III told The Miami Herald. "No charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing. It would not be prudent to dispose of any potential evidence before the investigation's done."

An autopsy showed the little girl was born alive, but died from "extreme prematurity," but the circumstances surrounding the death have prompted authorities to call for a criminal prosecution.

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The autopsy, which was obtained by the front-line pro-life organization Operation Rescue, and posted online, was done by Satish Chundru, an associate medical examiner of the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department.

It reported the mother had had three pregnancies, "one abortion, one miscarriage and this birth," referring to the body of the girl found in a decomposed state in July. Police had been summoned to the business after an 18-year-old went for an abortion, but the baby was born while she waited, and she observed the little girl breathing before a business worker came and put the baby in a biohazard bag.

An anonymous tipster told police about the situation, but officers found nothing during their initial search. The tipster later called to report the body had been stashed on the roof of the clinic, but had been returned to the building, and it was then found by officers.

''Any party with any legitimate interest in the case can ask that the body be held pending investigation for an unspecified amount of time,'' said Walker, who earlier prosecuted the parents of a 5-month-old girl who died of malnutrition, a case in which the body was preserved for 2 years during the investigation.

The Herald report said the plans for the memorial service for Shanice, as her mother named her, included songs, a butterfly release, and the participation of two ministers and was to have happened this weekend.

"I thought there would be a celebration for this little girl and we were all preparing for it and to have her rest in peace," said Nick Silverio, who set up the Gloria M. Silverio Safe Haven for Newborns Foundation in memory of his late wife.

He had worked to set up the service, and arrange for the burial, and had planned for the Rev. Daisie Overman of Riverside Baptist Church and retired Catholic Bishop Augustin Roman to officiate.

But prosecutors say the body must remain in the medical examiner's office until the investigation is finished.

At issue yet are medical report statements that the baby was 22 weeks developed, which would be within the 24-week window for legal abortions in Florida. Yet witnesses say the baby was breathing on her own at the abortion business, which would bring into application the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act, a requirement that infants who are alive following abortion procedures deserve the full protection of the law.

The autopsy report said the manner of the baby's death was "natural" and the cause was "extreme prematurity," and the apparent conflict typifies the unresolved morality of the abortion industry, according to Cheryl Sullenger, spokeswoman for Operation Rescue.

She told WND earlier that the fine line between a baby that legally can be killed and a baby alive in her mother's arms is unsupportable.

"On one hand we want to protect and save innocent babies. On the other hand we're going to kill them at the same time," she said.

"My feeling on it is this. If that baby was born alive and they deprived that child of a moment of that baby's life, that's murder. We don't know how long that baby could have survived," she said.

"We know no emergency care was given, in fact the opposite," she said. "Everything was done to make sure that baby was dead."

The case developed after the 18-year-old reported to the A Gyn Diagnostics abortion business to complete an abortion, officials said. The autopsy report said the baby girl with black hair and brown eyes apparently was healthy at the time of her birth. But the report noted that babies at 22 weeks have no historical chance of survival.

Police reports have indicated it was Belkis Gonzales, the abortion business owner, who took the baby from a clinic procedure room and dumped her in a biohazard bag. Police later found the body in that biohazard bag.

A lead investigator in the police department earlier told WND he believes there will be charges in the case.

"My goal is to see that charges are filed," said Hialeah Deputy Chief Mark Overton. "The evidence reflects that this was a homicide. We're moving forward with that mindset. I believe our evidence has indicated (and) I think we have probable cause to bring charges."

A police search warrant in the case earlier confirmed the scenario. "The staff began screaming that the baby was alive; at which time Ms. Belkis Gonzales cut the umbilical cord, threw it into a red bag with black printing. Ms. Gonzales then swept the baby, with her hands, into the same red bag along with the gauze used during the procedure," the search warrant said.

At the time the body was found, a lawyer for the abortion business issued a statement that no crime was committed, and an 18-year-old had had an abortion without complications.

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