Abortionist Gosnell found guilty on 3 murder counts
May 14, 2013: Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell on Monday was convicted on
three of the four first degree murder charges for killing babies who had been born
alive.
Gosnell, 72, could face the death penalty for the murder charges. The
jury will hear arguments for and against a death sentence a week from Tuesday. Gosnell,
who had performed late-term abortions under appalling unsanitary conditions in a Philadelphia
clinic, was found not guilty on a 4th murder charge, but guilty of involuntary manslaughter
and a host of other lesser charges.
Gosnell was accused of brutally killing
babies who survived late-term abortions, allowing unqualified personnel to perform
medical procedures, dispensing inappropriate medication, improper storage of fetal
remains, and other crimes. Government agents who inspected his clinic—originally looking
for evidence of illegal prescriptions—were so appalled by the conditions there that
they alerted local prosecutors. The clinic, which was patronized mostly by poor women,
had not been inspected for years.
The grisly details of Gosnell’s business
had shocked and outraged those who heard of the case. But the abortionist’s trial
has received little attention from American’s mainstream media outlets.
The
unborn babies were known only by letters, and Gosnell was convicted of the murders
of Baby Boy A, Baby C and Baby D at his Philadelphia clinic, the Women’s Medical Society.
Baby Boy A was killed after Gosnell induced delivery on his mother, who was almost
30 weeks pregnant. Gosnell severed the baby’s spine and put his body in a shoebox
for disposal, joking that the baby was so big he could “walk me to the bus stop,”
the grand jury report said.
Baby C moved and breathed for 20 minutes after
delivery before an assistant cut the baby’s spinal cord. Baby D was delivered into
a toilet. A clinic staffer told the grand jury that the baby moved and looked like
it was swimming when another staffer removed the baby from the toilet and cut its
neck.
The abortionist was found not guilty in the death of Baby E, who a witness
said cried before Gosnell killed it and put it in a waste bin. Gosnell initially faced
seven counts of first degree murder for the deaths of infants who were allegedly killed
after being born alive. Judge Jeffrey Minehart threw out three of the infant murder
charges for unstated reasons. Gosnell’s attorney had argued that there was no proof
the babies had been born alive.
The abortion doctor was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter in the death of a patient who died of an overdose in 2009. Prosecutors
had sought a third-degree murder charge in her case, saying Gosnell let his untrained
and unlicensed staff give the 41-year-old Bhutanese immigrant woman a fatal combination
of drugs. The abortionist was also convicted of infanticide in the death of Baby A
and conspiracy in the deaths of babies D and C.
Gosnell faced over 250 charges,
including racketeering, conspiracy and violations of Pennsylvania’s late-term abortion
ban. He faced more than 200 counts of breaking a state law that requires a 24-hour
waiting period on abortion. The gruesome testimony at the trial included reports that
Gosnell and his staff snipped the necks of over 100 babies who survived abortions.
One doctor at the clinic testified that the procedure was “literally a beheading.”
The
grand jury report said that most of the acts could not be prosecuted because Gosnell
destroyed the files. Gosnell’s name became a rallying cry for pro-life advocates who
lamented a lack of major media coverage of his trial. Their efforts on social media
helped draw attention to the case.
Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group
Live Action, said Gosnell’s “gruesome and inhuman crimes” had “cried out for justice.
Even as we celebrate this verdict, we honor and mourn as well those innocents who
did not receive ‘their day in court’ – and we must remember that Gosnell is not an
outlier within the abortion industry,” Rose said May 13.
Jack McMahon, Gosnell’s
attorney, said his client was “disappointed” and “upset” over the verdict. McMahon
said the jury “obviously took their job seriously. The verdict should be respected
based on their effort,” he said, Fox News reports. The jury had said it was deadlocked
on two charges early on Monday. It was not reported which charges had caused the deadlock.
Gosnell’s
clinic had minimal state oversight through 1993 and no oversight since then. The practices
at his clinic were not discovered until a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug
Enforcement Agency raid was conducted in February 2010 to seek evidence of illegal
distribution of prescription painkillers. Investigators found blood-stained rooms
and filthy equipment. The clinic stored aborted fetuses in a basement freezer in plastic
food containers and bags next to staff lunches. Gosnell kept severed feet of unborn
babies preserved in specimen jars, allegedly for future identification or DNA samples.
Staff
allegedly sent women to give birth into toilets, a doctor allegedly spread sexually
transmitted infections to women through poor sanitary standards, and a 15-year-old
staffer administered anesthesia to patients. The clinic allegedly gave better treatment
to white patients. Several of Gosnell’s former employees have pleaded guilty to murder
and other charges.
The exposure of Gosnell’s clinic resulted in the firing
of two high-ranking Pennsylvania health department officials and tougher rules for
Philadelphia abortion clinics, none of which had been inspected in 15 years. Gosnell
had also operated a clinic in Delaware.
He performed thousands of abortions
over his 30-year career, making about $1.8 million per year. Authorities found $250,000
hidden in a bedroom when they searched his house. He still faces federal drug charges,
Fox News reports.