MORE than 2,000 preserved fetal remains were found on the property of a U.S. abortion doctor who died last week.

Dr. Ulrich Klopfer died Friday, and his family found the remains when they came to his property in rural Indiana. According to a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the family instructed their attorney to contact the Coroner’s Office to provide proper removal for the fetuses.

Will County Sheriff’s detectives, crime scene investigators and representatives from the Will County Coroner’s Office arrived at the home. The family attorney directed them to an area of the property where “2,246 medically preserved fetal remains were located,” according to police statement.

The Will County Coroner’s Office took possession of the remains.

Klopfer ran a women’s health facility in South Bend that included abortion clinics. His license was suspended for the first time in 2015. The following year, the South Bend Tribune reported that his license was again suspended for six months for “failing to exercise reasonable care and violating several notice and documentation requirements.”

The newspaper added that Klopfer was “likely Indiana’s most prolific abortion doctor in history with numbers going into the tens of thousands of procedures in multiple counties over several decades.”

In a statement, U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski addressed the findings. “Every human life is precious, and every woman and baby deserves care and respect,” Walorski said. “This tragic case shows why abortion providers must be held to strict guidelines and face rigorous oversight. I will be looking into federal legislation to ensure the remains of aborted babies are always treated with dignity, including in the case of chemical abortions.”

According to the police statement, there is no evidence that any medical procedures were conducted on the property. Authorities have not addressed how the fetuses were preserved, or whether Klopfer had permission from the mothers to take the samples.

(SD-Agencies)