Gosnell case fuels bitter US abortion debate

May 15, 2013 @ 11:31 pm


FILE - In this undated photo provided by the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, Dr. Kermit Gosnell is shown. Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortion doctor convicted of killing three babies who were born alive in his grimy clinic agreed Tuesday May 14, 2013 to give up his right to an appeal and faces life in prison but will be spared a death sentence. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Police Department via Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, File) | Zoom

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - One of the last people seated in the witness box at Dr. Kermit Gosnell's murder trial was a character witness for a co-defendant, and had nothing to do with Gosnell's abortion clinic.

But the woman happened to be six months pregnant, and nearly waddled to the stand. If the jury had any doubts about the second- or third-trimester abortions Gosnell performed at his west Philadelphia clinic, she offered a stark visual.

So, too, did the cellphone photographs staff took of a nearly 30-week baby so large that Gosnell callously joked it could "walk to the bus."

That boy, Baby A, is the first of three babies Gosnell stands convicted of killing after Monday's verdict. The 72-year-old Gosnell waived any appeals to avoid the death penalty on Wednesday, and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The high-profile murder trial of a high-volume abortion provider reignited one of the nation's most intractable debates.

People on all sides of the abortion debate _ from proponents to clergy and lawmakers _ were quick to attack Gosnell, whose methods were unorthodox even when they weren't criminal.

"Gosnell's conviction is proof that he ignored not only state and federal laws, but standards that are set by the medical profession on best practices in reproductive health care, including safe abortion care," said Dr. Nancy Stanwood, the chair-elect for the New York City-based Physicians for Reproductive Health.

"Some abortionists may have cleaner sheets than Gosnell, and better sterilized equipment and better trained accomplices, but what they do _ what Gosnell did _ kill babies and hurt women _ is the same," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, who co-chairs the House Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

Opponents of abortion were joined by proponents in calling Gosnell's conviction appropriate, but they remained divided over what it may portend.

"Justice was served to Kermit Gosnell and he will pay the price for the atrocities he committed," NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse G. Hogue said this week. "We hope that the lessons of the trial do not fade with the verdict. Anti-choice politicians, and their unrelenting efforts to deny women access to safe and legal abortion care, will only drive more women to back-alley butchers like Kermit Gosnell."

The Gosnell case could serve as a fulcrum for more dialogue about abortion, said O. Carter Snead, a University of Notre Dame bioethicist and law professor.

"I would hope that people on both sides of the abortion debate, after this Gosnell atrocity ... would sit down and say we have to find a way to talk about this," Snead said.

Gosnell's clinic went more than 15 years without a state inspection, a span that saw the practice become reckless and the doctor rich.

According to staff members, Gosnell had once performed mostly first-trimester abortions, but that proportion changed as first-trimester patients found other options than his chaotic, dirty clinic, and second-trimester patients increasingly had fewer options.

Gosnell came to rely on untrained staff, unsterile equipment and unorthodox abortion methods that included women delivering babies that were then "snipped" with scissors after they were born alive, the jury found.

Gosnell was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 drug overdose of a patient, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan.

"The fact that we've got such a paralyzed political system when it comes to this question leads to attorneys general, governors and others not doing anything in the face of obvious harm to the public," Snead said. "This is a grotesque wakeup call for us to sit down and have a hard conversation about a very difficult question."

Relatively few women seek second-term abortions, and only a fraction of them wait until after 20 weeks. Abortions at 21 weeks or more make up only 1.5 percent of the total performed in the U.S. each year, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

That group might include teens in denial, the poor trying to raise money for the fee, or women trying to get several days off of work or family responsibilities in states with waiting periods.

Stanwood said that what she described as "arbitrary" restrictions on abortions in some states could drive some women to use clinics such as Gosnell's.

"He was preying on women who were on the social margins, who didn't have ready access to health care," she said.

The desperate, uninsured poor made up a considerable portion of Gosnell's cash-only practice. The mother of Baby A testified that she was 17 at the time, and didn't know how far along she was. She guessed she might be 4 1/2 months along when her aunt brought her to Gosnell's clinic in Delaware.

Gosnell manipulated the ultrasound wand to make the baby appear smaller, and listed the fetal age at 24.5 weeks, according to staff testimony. He then told her to return the next day to Philadelphia, where abortions could be performed until 24 weeks, four weeks later than in Delaware.

The aunt raised $2,500 in cash, some of it from an ATM after they arrived in Philadelphia. The aunt thought the abortion was in the girl's best interest, although the teen ended up with sepsis from the abortion, and spent two weeks in the hospital.

Staff cell phone photos showed what one clinic worker called the largest aborted baby she had ever seen. A prosecution expert said it was nearly 30 weeks. The photo was shown repeatedly during the trial, in part to prove the prosecution's theory that Gosnell regularly aborted babies past the state limit. The jury convicted him on 21 or 24 counts of performing illegal third-term abortions.

"Somewhere around 90 percent, 88 percent, (of women) have an abortion in the first trimester," said Elizabeth Nash, a public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute.

The Buhtanese refugee who died at Gosnell's clinic, Karnamaya Mongar, had sought an abortion closer to her Virginia home when she was 15 weeks pregnant, and went to three clinics before she found Gosnell a month later.

Her case exemplifies one of the many reasons women delay getting an abortion, especially as states adopt more and more restrictions, Nash said.

"It's so heartbreaking," Nash said. "If we were able to provide health care to these women, who are so in a sense displaced because they don't have a connection to the health care system, either because of financial reasons, or fear, or lack of knowledge ... we could really make a huge dent in the unintended pregnancy rate."

Half of all pregnancies are unplanned, she said.

"If you could work on that issue, you could really reduce everything that's going on around abortions. The decibel level could be reduced. And potentially, we could have a real conversation about abortion."


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (38)


  • Add A Comment

  • dexterjibs wrote...
    send this bay butcherer
    March 17, 2013 10:15 pm
    to prison for the rest of his life.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dexterjibs wrote...
    send this baby butcherer
    March 17, 2013 10:17 pm
    to prison for the rest of his life.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dexterjibs wrote...
    guns don't kill people
    March 17, 2013 10:18 pm
    abortion clinics run by murderous bass-tards like this guy kill people.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    No, dexterjibs. Abortions don't kill people. Outlawing abortion so that only unlicensed criminal "doctors" provide them kills people.
    March 18, 2013 2:51 pm
    Isn't that the logic you right wingers use on guns? Criminals will still get their hands on them, right? And since the "forced birth" movement sees all pregnant women entering an abortion clinic as "criminals," they're still going to get an abortion.

    Except now, if you make abortion illegal then they will have to go to scum like like this guy in Philadelphia to have it done. So the forced birth movement will actually contribute to MORE unnecessary deaths.

    And you want to know what's truly evil? Using the power of the guvmint that you right-wingers supposedly detest to FORCE victims of rape and incest to bear the progeny of their attacker. Some bundle of joy, huh.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Carol Valentine wrote...
    Grand Jury Report
    April 15, 2013 8:25 am
    http://www.phila.gov/districtattorney/PDFs/GrandJuryWomensMedical.pdf Read the first 18 pages before making any conclusions. Don't you think that a medical clinic deserves the same government oversight that say restaurants and beauty salons get?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @Dexterjibs...
    April 23, 2013 5:24 pm
    I hope what you mean is the law breaking part of what this doctor was doing, and not just spewing the 'abortion is murder' rhetoric. This doctor, unlike nearly all doctors who perform abortions was breaking the law. Even the most ardent abortion supporters want this guy thrown in jail and never be allowed to practise medicine again. Me - I'm not for abortion, but I am not willing to force my opinion on others. For the religious minded folks - remember that God measures his justice by your (or thier) acts.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dexterjibs wrote...
    what evil
    March 17, 2013 10:20 pm
    sadistic human beings this guy and his minions are. And, anyone that supports abortion.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    Doctor of a "rogue" abortion clinic?
    March 18, 2013 3:42 pm
    I guess that makes him a real "Fetus Fighter" in the Pro-Choice Martyrs Brigade! Maybe the courts can compromise and send him to a Womens Prison.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Sounds like a hero of the left to me....
    March 19, 2013 9:23 am
    ....baby butcher. May her forever be sodomized by The Devil in hell.....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @HPD 5-0 & RangerHawk
    April 23, 2013 5:26 pm
    I'm glad that you feel it necessary to inject inane, inaccurate rhetoric into this disgusting situation. There's not one pro-choice person on this planet that supports this doctor's actions - and you know it. This doctor crossed the line in far, far more ways than just failing to follow the law on procedures involving abortion - and he should pay for ALL of those crimes.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hank Reardon wrote...
    @ Former Marine Sargent
    April 30, 2013 10:35 am
    You State: "There's not one pro-choice person on this planet that supports this doctor's actions" Your are wrong, watch testimony by Planned Parenthood, they have NO PROBLEM with this http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/video-planned-parenthood-official-argues-right-post-birth-abortion_712198.html And there are reports that they knew about this and did nothing to report it Steinberg said that when Gosnell was in practice, women would sometimes come to Planned Parenthood for services after first visiting Gosnell's West Philadelphia clinic, and would complain to staff about the conditions there. "We would always encourage them to report it to the Department of Health," Steinberg said as she sat with Steinem before Tuesday's events. So it gets reported to planned parenthood, and they don't call the cops.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • RnD_Fan wrote...
    Disgusting
    April 12, 2013 1:13 pm
    And especially disgusting that we're just hearing about this in the news now.

    Disgusting!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    "They say they were just doing what the boss trained them to do."
    April 12, 2013 1:20 pm
    Ah, the Nuremberg defense. Fail. Rot in jail.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @shark75
    April 23, 2013 5:27 pm
    Agreed (and that's coming from someone you've likely called a liberal)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    More Kermit Gosnell's is exactly the outcome the pro-lifers are pushing for.
    April 16, 2013 1:01 pm
    If the "forced birth movement" ever succeeds in outlawing abortion, there will be no regulation and oversight, no standards.

    Kinda like the gun debate. if you outlaw abortion, only criminals will provide them.

    Like it or not, women who want an abortion will get one. The only question is, HOW?

    Does the term "back alley butcher" ring a bell?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    So Obamacare will fix it eh?
    April 16, 2013 2:32 pm
    Your just supposed to drink, not chug the Kool-Aid dude! In order for the "forced non-Caucasian abortion movement" to progress, this guy has to have all counts of murder reduced to 1 count of negligent homicide (the woman)!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    Nope. Pro-choicers don't like Gosnell any more than you guys do.
    April 16, 2013 2:50 pm
    But don't let that fact get in the way of a good spin job.

    Like I've always said, your side pushes policies that ensure than there will be more Gosnells, for when you outlaw something, no matter what it is, you create a black market.

    And your side favors using government to force women into giving birth, even if that means jailing them and strapping them down.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TeeJay wrote...
    Really? I didn't know that abortion was outlawed in Philly
    April 18, 2013 11:43 am
    According to Hayduke it's past time to legalize abortion in Philly so that "doctors" like Gosnell will get out of the black market abortion business. Hey wait a minute...abortion IS legal in Philly...and Gosnell was licensed...oh yeah but they still restrict abortion past 24 weeks....so Hayduke's "solution" is unrestricted abortion up to and including infanticide. No rights for the unborn and just born in Hayduke's utopia....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    The Lady was so upset by these so called Late Term abortions
    April 18, 2013 1:26 pm
    That she worked 4 YEARS at the place.Looks like this woman was offered a deal in exchange for her testimony after all isn't she an accessory?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @messiah
    April 23, 2013 5:30 pm
    Dude - how DARE a person deemed ultra-left wing by the mouthy right wing extremists on here take a position like this. If we believe those right wing 'tards, You and I are supposed to support this disgusting excuse for a doctor even when he's doing something so digusting and illegal as he has! Congrats on having the courage to show that liberals aren't the clowns they proclaim them to be!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • The King's Son wrote...
    "forced birth movement"?
    April 30, 2013 7:20 pm
    Since when did despising infanticide get you labeled like that? One thing I hate about political hacks is their incessant need to come up with a catchy label for everyone they disagree with. It adds exactly nothing to the discussion and, in this case, belittles the legitimate disgust and valiant love for life that pro-lifers espouse.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hnuh wrote...
    @M101...
    April 19, 2013 9:44 am
    I was thinking the same thing, I mean, really, no charges against this person? Why? I mean, reduced charges for cooperation would be ok but none? Now, to the right wing rant: Margaret Sanger, eugenicist and racist progressive that she was, opposed abortion. Even she recognized that abortion is murder. Sterilization and birth control she favored for the elimination of the "other" races and the defectives among the white race, but not killing babies. This "doctor" should be hung from a construction crane in the public square.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @hnuh
    April 23, 2013 5:31 pm
    AND Margaret Sanger gave up her those nasty qualities long before she died.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • The King's Son wrote...
    Why defend...
    April 30, 2013 7:24 pm
    ...such a disgusting human? Why feel the need to hold up this pathetic woman? Simply because liberals are supposed to enshrine her? Her legacy is forever marred by racism, sterilization, and the creation of the largest organization dedicated to limiting population of poor minorities in America.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }