Gabby Miller | Writer
May 23, 2025
Every 1 in 6 couples resort to fertility clinics due to inability to reproduce. Fertility clinics all across the world annually help over half a million couples conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF), completely changing the lives of so many for the better. These clinics are major outlets to many as they make the impossible possible. They provide hope, joy, and life.
Sadly, on May 17th, 2025, 25 year old Guy Edward Bartkus maliciously set off a car bomb, exploding the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs and injuring 4 people while killing one person and himself. This bombing was so powerful it was claimed to be felt over a mile away and caused significant damage to not only the fertility clinic, but also a few of the nearby buildings. After three days of investigation led by the FBI and Deputy Fire Chief Greg Lyle, the bombing was deemed an act of terrorism.
Many have begun to tie Bartkus to have been driven by his anti-natalist ideology, the belief that procreation is inherently harmful and unethical. Sophomore Evan Potwora expressed how he “finds it sad that a place of refuge and hope became an unsafe environment.” Where women and their partners could once seek help, they will now be filled with fear and uncertainty towards their fertility journeys. Potwora added how this act of terrorism “is a reflection of the polarity throughout America and how strong beliefs have turned to violence as a use of messaging,” especially when women are denied equal access to healthcare in most cases due to men such as Bartkus.
Sophomore Halle Browning questioned “how someone could ever do such a horrible thing to such vulnerable people who only need help.” It takes such little morals for someone to commit such an act of terrorism and the fact is that society is corrupt. If people do not think more before they act, people will continue to die from harmful behaviors and practices from people who do not think about others. Bartkus is one of many selfish people who have little care for other opinions and their well being. This should serve as a wake up call for many, to recognize you must stop and think before you speak and act upon something because those selfish acts put the lives of others at danger.
Leave a Reply