Bombing at IVF clinic should be a security wake-up call for fertility centers, experts say

A bombing this weekend at a fertility clinic in California is raising fears that the threat of violence that has long loomed over abortion providers is now extending to other areas of reproductive health.

Authorities said four people were injured when a car bomb exploded outside the American Reproductive Centers clinic in Palm Springs Saturday, and the 25-year-old suspect was killed. The facility was badly damaged in the blast.

Law enforcement officials said the suspect’s writings expressed anti-natalist views, a belief that procreation is morally wrong. They characterized the blast as an act of terrorism and said it was believed to be an isolated incident. 

But security experts and women’s health advocates said the violence should serve as a wake-up call for all fertility facilities, especially as reproductive issues — not just abortion — have become increasingly politicized.  

Several high-profile fertility clinics across the country declined to comment for this article out of fear that publicly discussing security concerns could draw unnecessary attention or increase their vulnerability to copycat attacks. 

Philip Klein, a security consultant and president of...