It's not plausible a distressed woman carefully washed them for photography
In the long contest over bodily autonomy and political truth, an image can become a battlefield before anyone confirms what it shows. An Adelaide University academic and anti-abortion activist named Joanna Howe posted a photograph she claimed depicted aborted twin girls, using it to anchor a Sydney rally and an emotional public appeal — but digital forensics and medical experts commissioned by Guardian Australia concluded the image almost certainly shows newborn sugar gliders, small marsupials native to the continent. The episode sits within a wider pattern of incremental pressure on reproductive rights in Australia, where proposed legislation in multiple states would sharply curtail access to abortion, and where medical professionals warn that manipulated imagery is being deployed to move law through the movement of feeling rather than fact.
- An activist's tearful social media appeal, built around a photograph of what she called aborted twin girls named Ruth and Emma, rapidly mobilized supporters toward a June 2 rally and new restrictive legislation.
- Digital forensics traced the image to a viral TikTok video of a sugar glider rescue watched nearly 24 million times, and wildlife and medical experts found the physical characteristics inconsistent with human embryos at any gestational stage.
- Medical specialists noted the absence of the sac, placenta, and umbilical cord that would necessarily accompany abortion products, with one observing it was implausible a distressed woman would carefully wash and photograph such remains.
- Howe declined to answer questions about whether she verified the image's authenticity, and has a documented history of similar incidents including a hospital photograph that triggered a privacy breach investigation.
- Obstetricians and reproductive rights coalitions warn that this 'incrementalism' — targeting rare late-term procedures with emotionally charged and unverified imagery — is steadily narrowing the legal and social space for abortion care in Australia.
Last week, Joanna Howe — an anti-abortion activist and labour migration academic at Adelaide University — posted a photograph to social media claiming it showed the remains of two aborted twin girls she had named Ruth and Emma. In a tearful video, she announced she was renaming a planned Sydney rally in their honor and appealed for public support. The image, two small pink forms against a white background, spread quickly through activist networks.
Guardian Australia commissioned a digital forensics analysis, which traced the photograph to a January TikTok video documenting a sugar glider rescue — a post that had accumulated nearly 24 million views. The forensic assessment rated the probability of the objects being human embryos as 'extremely low,' citing head proportions, limb shape, and other physical markers consistent with marsupials. A wildlife veterinarian specializing in gliders concurred, noting that a human embryo at the depicted stage would look markedly different and would retain a visible umbilical cord and membrane.
Medical experts were equally unambiguous. Adelaide University adjunct professor Jeremy Thompson observed that if these were abortion products, someone had 'tidied them up' — the sac, placenta, and cord were simply absent. Another specialist found it implausible that a distressed woman would wash and carefully photograph such remains, adding: 'It's not verified to be human, let alone females with names.'
Howe told the publication she had received two emails from an unnamed woman — the first containing the photograph, the second describing the abortion. She did not respond to questions about whether she had verified the image's authenticity. This is not the first such incident: Howe previously posted a photograph allegedly taken inside a Townsville hospital purporting to show an aborted fetus, prompting a privacy breach investigation that reached no conclusion.
The rally Howe is organizing supports bills in South Australia and New South Wales that would significantly restrict abortion access. Her stated long-term goal is the criminalization of all abortion, which she has described publicly as murder. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is scheduled to speak at the June 2 event.
Medical professionals see the pattern clearly. The president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists described the use of such imagery as 'an absolutely horrible tactic' designed to manipulate emotion rather than inform policy, while reproductive rights coalitions warn that this incremental approach is quietly dismantling the decriminalization of abortion — one unverified photograph at a time.
Joanna Howe, an anti-abortion activist and labour migration expert from Adelaide University, posted an image to social media last week claiming it showed the remains of aborted twin girls she named Ruth and Emma. The two small pink bodies lay on a clean white background. Howe said she had received an email from a woman describing a traumatic home abortion, and the photograph moved her to rename a planned Sydney rally scheduled for June 2 as "the rally for Emma and Ruth." In a tearful video, she appealed for support, saying she could not "end this alone."
But digital forensics analysis commissioned by Guardian Australia found the image almost certainly depicted newborn sugar gliders—small marsupials native to Australia—not human remains. The analysis, conducted by a digital forensics expert, traced the photograph to a TikTok video posted in January describing a sugar glider rescue. That video has been viewed nearly 24 million times and liked by 750,000 users. The forensic assessment concluded there was an "extremely low" chance the objects were human embryos, noting that the shape, head proportions, and other physical characteristics were "consistent with marsupials, not humans."
A wildlife veterinarian specializing in gliders agreed with the assessment, explaining that a human embryo at the stage depicted would have distinctly different leg and head shapes, and would retain an obvious umbilical cord and surrounding membrane. Medical experts consulted by the publication were equally clear. Jeremy Thompson, an adjunct professor at Adelaide University and chief scientific officer at fertility company Fertilis, noted that if these were abortion products, someone had "tidied them up" for the photograph—they lacked the sac, placenta, and umbilical cord that would necessarily be present. An unnamed medical specialist went further, observing that it was implausible a distressed woman would carefully wash and photograph such remains. "It's not verified to be human, let alone females with names," the specialist said.
Howe told Guardian Australia she received two emails from a woman she declined to name. The first contained the photograph; the second described the abortion and stated that "something big came out." When the woman washed the pad, she said, "I saw these." Howe did not respond to questions about whether she had verified the image's authenticity.
The rally Howe is promoting supports legislative efforts to restrict abortion access. In South Australia, a bill before parliament would ban abortions after 25 weeks regardless of fetal abnormalities or risk to the pregnant person's health, permitting the procedure only to save the pregnant person's life. In New South Wales, the bill targets sex-selective abortion. Howe has worked with multiple state and federal MPs on such legislation. She has also stated publicly that her ultimate goal is to criminalize all abortion. "We believe abortion is murder and we believe that everybody involved in the process of murder should face criminal penalties," she said during an April debate.
Former Nationals leader and current One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has agreed to speak at the June 2 rally. Howe has previously been banned from South Australian parliament following allegations of "threatening and intimidating tactics," which she denied. She has also faced accusations of spreading misinformation and of "grift" after creating a fundraising game during an abortion debate. In another incident, she posted an image allegedly taken inside a Townsville hospital purporting to show an aborted fetus, prompting a privacy breach investigation that concluded without identifying the source.
Medical professionals view such tactics as part of a broader strategy to erode reproductive rights incrementally. Nisha Khot, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, described the focus on rare second- and third-trimester abortions as "preying on vulnerable people." She called the use of purported abortion imagery an "absolutely horrible tactic" designed to manipulate emotion, while emphasizing that abortion is healthcare. The SA Abortion Action Coalition has warned that such "incrementalism" undermines access to abortion care and erodes the decriminalization of abortion. MPs have reported receiving death threats and abuse following Howe's campaigns.
Citações Notáveis
We believe abortion is murder and we believe that everybody involved in the process of murder should face criminal penalties.— Joanna Howe, during an April debate
If you can't do it one way, you do it another.— Nisha Khot, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, describing incremental restriction tactics
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
How did anyone discover these were sugar gliders and not what she claimed?
A digital forensics expert traced the image back to a TikTok video from January about rescuing sugar gliders. The video had been seen millions of times. Once you know where it came from, the biology becomes obvious.
What would actual abortion remains look like, medically speaking?
They'd have membranes, umbilical cords, placental tissue, blood clots. The things that come with pregnancy. These pink bodies had none of that. A medical specialist said it wasn't plausible a distressed woman would carefully wash and photograph them anyway.
Did Howe verify the image before posting it?
She says she received it in an email from a woman describing her own abortion. But she didn't respond to questions about whether she checked it. She just used it.
What's her actual goal with all this legislation?
She's been clear about it: she wants all abortion criminalized, not just late-term cases. She said everyone involved in abortion should face criminal penalties. The bills are incremental steps toward that.
Has she done this kind of thing before?
Yes. She posted an image from inside a Townsville hospital claiming it was an aborted fetus. That triggered a privacy investigation. She's also been banned from South Australian parliament for threatening and intimidating tactics.
What are medical professionals saying about her approach?
They see it as emotional manipulation designed to chip away at abortion rights one bill at a time. They call it incrementalism. And they're concerned because it works—it moves people, even if the facts don't hold up.