Oregon politicos put emergency stop to using aborted fetuses for electricity

Local politicians in Oregon responded to widespread reports that a nearby waste-to-energy plant was processing aborted fetuses into electricity with a speedy message: They suspended the plant’s processing in an emergency meeting held late Thursday.

“We called an emergency meeting because this is an emergency,” said Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson, LifeNews.com reported. “We need to deal with it now.”

Her statements came in context of addressing a recent report that the Covanta Marion Inc. plant in Brooks was using medical waste from a British Columbia firm — including aborted fetus tissue — to turn into electricity for local communities.

“I am horrified,” Ms. Carlson went on, The Blaze reported. “There are not enough strong words to describe my feelings. This will not continue. … I don’t even want to call it ’material.’ These are babies.”

The Board of Commissioners asked staff members to look at what ordinances might be used to legally put a complete stop to the practice, which has been going forth by contract.

Stericyle is the name of the private company that bags and boxes the medical waste and transports it from Washington state and from British Columbia to Oregon — and the terms of its contracts requires 30 days notification for cancellations, The Blaze said.

The Covanta plant, meanwhile, said through a public relations firm that it was “shocked” by the news reports of incinerated fetuses and put the blame on the local commissioners.

Jill Stueck, vice president of marketing and communications at Covanta, said in an emailed statement: “The medical waste program at the Marion County Resource Recovery Facility is county run and managed. Marion County contracts for and arranges the delivery of medical waste to the Marion County Resource Recovery Facility. Covanta is shocked by these allegations and is cooperating with the county’s suspension of its medical waste program pending further review.”