Bomber Declared ‘War against Pro-Lifers’ before Deadly Fertility Clinic Attack
A 25-year-old man who pledged a “war against pro-lifers” is responsible for a Saturday bombing that destroyed much of a Southern California fertility clinic, authorities say. Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, Calif., was identified by law enforcement as the suspect in a car bombing that tore through American Reproductive Centers and shattered windows at nearby buildings. The bomber died in the blast.
The fertility clinic was closed at the time of the bombing, which injured four people -- although no one else was killed. A senior FBI official told the Associated Press it was possibly the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California.”
“This was a targeted attack against the IVF facility,” said Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “Make no mistake: we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism.”
American Reproductive Centers posted a statement on its Facebook page saying “all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials” are secure and undamaged.
“Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is,” the fertility clinic said.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a website believed to be tied to the bomber promised a “war against pro-lifers” and said the suspect would be targeting a fertility clinic.
The website promoted a series of fringe philosophies, including “abolitionist veganism” and “negative utilitarianism,” the Times said. Abolitionist veganism opposes all forms of animal use, including the consumption of eggs and milk. Negative utilitarianism prioritizes the reduction of suffering as the highest moral goal, rather than the maximization of happiness.
“Basically, I’m a pro-mortalist,” the website said, referring to a philosophy that views death as a moral good because it ends suffering and eliminates the harms of existence.
Further, the website declared a goal of “sterilizing this planet of the disease of life,” the Times said.
Brian Levin, professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and the founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said the Internet has made it easier for individuals like the bomber to act on their extreme beliefs.
“Today, we basically have a DIY ecosystem where lone folks can engage in conduct that previously tilted more towards groups and small cells,” Levin told the newspaper. “There’s a whole cauldron that involves radicalization, misinformation, legitimization of violence as a method within this grievance set, and that’s what you have.
“The ability to get radicalized, as well as the ability to actually gain the technical know-how, along with a hot-button anger-inducing social media landscape -- this is the world we’re living in. And unfortunately, California has seen all kinds of aspects of this.”
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/American Reproductive Centers
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published May 19, 2025.
