Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced a bill this week that would impose harsher punishment for those who perform partial birth abortions. 

The congressman introduced the “Partial Birth Abortion is Murder Act” “in response to the five preborn babies found in Washington, D.C., who were speculated to have died from partial birth abortions, according to Mullin’s office. Left-wing pro-life activists from Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) discovered the remains of approximately 115 aborted babies in late March, five of whom they say might have been partially aborted or killed after birth in violation of federal law. 

“Partial birth abortion is a cruel and gruesome means to ending human life. As a father of six, including three that came into our lives through the blessing of adoption, I believe wholeheartedly that every human life is precious and that life begins in the womb. We have to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves,” Mullin said in a statement. “Those five defenseless lives inspired this bill. There must be a complete investigation into the deaths of the five preborn babies found in our nation’s capital.”

The bill would increase the punishment for those who violate the Partial Abortion Act of 2003 to a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole. As the law stands, any physician who commits a partial birth abortion risks fines and imprisonment of up to two years.

Following PAAU’s findings, Live Action News, the publishing arm of the pro-life organization Live Action, was able to obtain pictures of the aborted babies and show them to neonatal experts, including a former abortionist, and ask them to consult on the nature of the five babies’ deaths. Neonatalist Dr. Kendra Kolb told the publication the baby girl, which PAAU named Harriet, was likely 28-30 weeks gestational age, “with evidence of deep lacerations to the posterior neck which presumably correlates to the method of abortion used to end her life.” PAAU alleged that Harriet had “one eye open and an incision in the back of her back, her brain suctioned out and her skull crushed.”

The surgical tools of doctor Janusz Rudzinski that he uses for performing abortions lie in a steel tray in a surgery room at the Krankenhaus Prenzlau hospital on April 3, 2018 in Prenzlau, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“During this type of abortion procedure, a baby is typically turned to the breech position and the child’s extremities are delivered before the rest of the body is pulled into the birth canal and delivered, except for the head — according to a description given by the inventor of the D&X [dilation and extraction, commonly called partial birth abortion] procedure, abortionist Martin Haskell,” Live Action News reported. “The abortionist then punctures the base of the baby’s neck, and uses powerful suction to remove the baby’s brain and collapse the skull.”

Mullin added that “despite evidence that these babies were murdered in violation of federal law,” the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. has “failed to seriously investigate Washington Surgi-Clinic and the local abortionist there,” referencing the location where PAAU allegedly obtained the remains of the unborn babies.

“And tragically, we know this is not the only instance in which this crime has occurred. With this bill, we’ll preserve the sanctity of human life and ensure no abortionist can get away with this ever again,” the congressman concluded.

Another pro-life organization, Susan B. Anthony List, endorsed Mullin’s bill and spoke in support of saving “all unborn children and protect[ing] their mothers.”

“We thank Congressman Mullin for taking decisive action in the face of Washington, DC, officials’ callous refusal to investigate the deaths of five aborted children found in the city,” Hon. Marilyn Musgrave, SBA List’s Vice President of Government Affairs said.

“Though brutal partial-birth abortions are a federal crime, extreme court precedents make unfettered abortion on demand until birth possible in locales like D.C. As we fight to save all unborn children and protect their mothers, we hope the U.S. Supreme Court will soon return these policy decisions to the American people who are horrified by late-term abortion and infanticide,” she continued.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.