… And Her Unborn Child. (On 9-11)

National Right to Life ^ | September 10, 2026 | Raimundo Rojas

[Morgana]

I was in New York in the spring of 2002, as I often was then, representing National Right to Life as a registered NGO at the United Nations. On a day off from fighting the death cult at the UN, a group of us went down to Ground Zero. The ruins, the destruction, the death- it was overwhelming. I’m glad I went, but I did not go back for another 21 years.

I had friends visiting in New York in the Fall of 2023, and one of their must-sees was, of course, a visit to Ground Zero. I went for the first time in 21 years. We went to the top of the Freedom Tower, went through the museum, listened to archived phone calls, and visited all the exhibits. Then we came outside, wiped away tears, and walked up to the two enormous square voids in the middle of the World Trade Center site. Memorial Plaza. We started reading the names.

The names sit on low bronze parapets that form the rim of two enormous square voids. The architect described the design as “absence made visible.” That’s when I found her: “Monica Rodriguez Smith and her unborn child.” Another gut punch in a day filled with them.

I wanted to find out all that I could about her and the baby that was killed. This is from the archives:

“Monica Rodriguez Smith, 35, of Seaford, Long Island. Born in Manta, Ecuador; immigrated with her parents and four brothers. She worked as a mechanical-unit secretary for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and had never taken a sick day in 11 years. She met her husband, Edward “Ed” Smith, at the Trade Center when he made a sales call. They married in 1990, renovated the Long Island house he grew up in, and prepared a nursery. February 26, 1993, was her last scheduled day before maternity leave. She was seven months pregnant with their first child, a boy they planned to name Eddie. She was having lunch in the basement when a van bomb exploded in the nearby parking garage. She and five others died. Ed Smith later addressed the bombers at sentencing about the life they never got to live with their son.”

She and her baby died, not on September 11th, 2001 but on the first attack on the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993 by a branch of the same death cult who would carry out the attacks 8 years later.

In total, there are 11 instances in which “and her unborn child” are listed on the memorial, but the government decided not to count those 11 human babies in the total number killed during the attacks. An absolute shame. Below is a brief history of their mothers and of them.

They were humans whose stories should be remembered.

Deanna Lynn Galante (née Micciulli), 32, of Staten Island (New Dorp). Born August 1, 1969, in Brooklyn. She worked as an executive/personal assistant in Cantor (105th–106th floor). She was seven months pregnant with their first child, a boy she had already named Matthew Giacomo. The family had bought clothes, diapers, and Disney books. She was six weeks from maternity leave.

Helen Crossin Kittle, 34, of Larchmont. Computer specialist at Cantor Fitzgerald (103rd floor). She and Kevin Kittle had known each other since childhood; she asked him out. They married April 7, 2001. She was five months pregnant. Some later remembrances refer to the child as a girl named Patricia.

Patricia Ann Cimaroli Massari, 25, of Glendale, Queens. Born August 20, 1976. Capital analyst at Marsh & McLennan (98th floor). She and Louis Massari had known each other since age 15, dated from age 19, and married on May 8, 1999. On the morning of September 11, she took a home pregnancy test, learned she was pregnant with their first child, confirmed it with a second test, and called Louis at 8:40 a.m. They were still on the phone when the plane hit. Louis later said two things were taken from him that day.

Sylvia San Pio Resta, 26, of Bayside, Queens. Born September 27, 1974. She and her husband, John Resta (40), both worked as traders/project staff at Carr Futures (92nd floor). They married in summer 2000 after a famously elaborate proposal. She was seven months pregnant with their first child (Dylan if a boy, Julia if a girl) and one week from maternity leave. John also died.

Dianne T. Signer, 32, of Middle Village, Queens. Born March 23, 1969, in Brooklyn. Secretary at Fred Alger Management (93rd floor). She was engaged to carpenter Paul Mauceri (they had known each other for 14 years. She was three months pregnant with their first child. Her mother later said she was glad the baby was mentioned on the Memorial “because that baby will always be in my heart.”

Jennifer L. Howley (née Dorsey), 34, of New Hyde Park. Born July 7, 1967, in Lincoln, Nebraska.Senior vice president at Aon Corporation (92nd floor). She married Brian Howley on March 8, 1997. She was five months pregnant with their first child, due in January 2002.

Vanessa Lang Langer, 29, of Yonkers. Born October 31, 1971, in the Bronx. Office manager at Regus (93rd floor). She married Timothy “Tim” Langer; they had been married for a little over a year. She was four months pregnant with their first child. Tim later struggled with alcoholism and died; family members have described him as an “indirect victim.”

Rahma Salie 28, of the Boston area. Born February 22, 1973, Chief Operating Officer at a Cambridge technology firm. They lived on the outskirts of Boston and were flying together on American Airlines Flight 11 (which struck the North Tower) to attend a wedding in California. She was seven months pregnant with their first child and had obtained a doctor’s letter permitting her to fly.

Renée A. May, 39, of Baltimore. American Airlines flight attendant since 1986 (regular Dulles–Los Angeles route) and volunteer docent at the Walters Art Museum. She was engaged to David Spivock Jr. of Rockville. She died on American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon. She was seven weeks pregnant.

Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, 38, of San Rafael, California. Born August 31, 1963, in Bloomington, Indiana, she married Jack Grandcolas in 1991; they had been trying for years to have a child. She was three months pregnant with their first child. She was returning from her grandmother’s funeral in New Jersey on United Airlines Flight 93.

Ugh!

When I first stood at Ground Zero in 2002, the place was still an open wound. More than twenty years later, I went back, and this time, the wound had a shape, and the names of the dead were carved into bronze so we would not forget who was taken from us.

Among those names are eleven that have stayed with me. A mother is named, and then her unborn child. There is something profoundly tender about that.

So when we stand at those reflecting pools and read the words “and her unborn child,” we should have the courage to say what those families already know. These eleven lives were lost on September 11, and remembering them is not political or provocative. Those babies should be included in the final devastating and horrific tally of those murdered. Their lives mattered too.

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TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: 911; antisemite; baby; jewhater; prolife; unborn

[Morgana]

RIP to the unborn babies that died on 9-11.

[libertylover]

In total, there are 11 instances in which “and her unborn child” are listed on the memorial,

I'm surprised this would be allowed in New York.

But the term should be "preborn"; it's impossible to be "unborn".