‘Act of God.' Palm Springs fertility clinic doctor narrowly escaped deadly bombing

The medical director of a Palm Springs fertility clinic, which was damaged in last week’s bombing, was supposed to be in the office at the time of the explosion, a clinic representative said.

The car bombing outside the American Reproductive Centers injured four people and killed the suspect, identified by authorities as Guy Edward Bartkus. The FBI said the explosion was driven by the suspect’s  anti-natalist ideology.

It is not uncommon that Dr. Maher Abdallah and other staff members at the American Reproductive Centers are working on Saturdays as they wait for the last mail delivery of the weekend while checking on embryos. But on the morning of May 17, Dr. Abdallah said he decided not to come in.

“It was an act of God that nobody was there,” said Amir Abdallah, a business partner and cousin to Dr. Abdallah. 

What is also astonishing to the staff is that while the car bomb took out four buildings, the one section of the facility with all the embryos was unscathed.

“It’s a miracle,” Dr. Abdallah said. ”The building was not intact. The IVF lab within the building was intact. Everything else is pretty much destroyed.”

First responders and law enforcement officials quickly jumped into action to get the electricity back so the embryos could be saved.

The fertility clinic, which serves many same-sex couples in the Palm Springs area, has found a secure place to store the embryos inside cryo tanks before the clinic reopens at a temporary location in a medical building.

The clinic will resume its operations on Tuesday, Abdallah said.

“On Sunday, they’ll be in our new office across the street,” he explained, adding there will be security personnel guarding the embryos around the clock with 28 security cameras in place. 

“We will rebuild,” said Amir Abdallah. “We believe in miracles. We witness them every single day. And no act of hatred can stop us from bringing those miracles into this world."