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.
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.”
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.
