Aborted and miscarried babies were burned in Britain hospitals, which termed the bodies "clinical waste" and went so far as to heat their hospitals with them in some cases, according to a shocking report.
Ten National Health Service (NHS) trusts admitted to burning fetal remains among garbage and two others used the remains in "waste-to-energy" programs, meaning they converted the burnt babies into heat for their facilities, the U.K. Telegraph reported.
"Dispatches," an investigative news program with the U.K. television station Channel 4, revealed that at least 15,500 fetal remains were incinerated by 27 NHS trusts over the last two years. The program, which aired Monday, found that parents who lose children in early pregnancy were often treated without compassion and were not consulted about what they wanted to happen with the remains.
The Department of Health issued an instant ban on the practice Monday, with Health Minister Dr. Dan Poulter branding the practice "totally unacceptable."
"While the vast majority of hospitals are acting in the appropriate way, that must be the case for all hospitals and the Human Tissue Authority has now been asked to ensure that it acts on this issue without delay," Poulter told The Washington Times.
Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, has written to all NHS trusts to tell them the practice must stop.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, has also written to the Human Tissue Authority to ask them to clarify their policies.
One of the country's leading hospitals, Addenbrooke's in Cambridge, incinerated 797 babies below 13 weeks gestation at their own "waste to energy" plant. The mothers were told the remains had been "cremated."
Another "waste to energy" facility at Ipswich Hospital, operated by a private contractor, incinerated 1,101 fetal remains between 2011 and 2013. The fetuses were even brought in from another hospital before being burned.
The hospitals involved denied the accusations.
"The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust does not incinerate fetal remains," a spokeswoman said. She added that the trust "takes great care over fetal remains."
Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: "I am disappointed trusts may not be informing or consulting women and their families."
