We Can Do Better Than This
“This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable, babies in the third trimester of pregnancy– and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors. The medical practice by which he carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels– and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths. Over the years, many people came to know that something was going on here. But no one put a stop to it.”
This is the story of Kermit Gosnell, the Pennsylvania “doctor” who on a regular basis mercilessly murdered innocent babies and caused severe damage and, in some cases, death to their mothers. This man has murdered thousands of babies over his 30-year career in the “Women’s Medical Society” he used to house his atrocious acts. Whether you consider yourself pro-life, pro-choice or somewhere in the middle, this case has to make you stop and think. Abortion is always a hotly contested issue; advocates proclaim a “woman’s choice” to do with her body what she wishes and opponents stand up for those without a voice who will be affected by that ”choice.” However, Gosnell is a different story– Gosnell took further advantage of Pennsylvania’s lax abortion laws to commit blatant murder of children and become the go-to in the state for illegal, late-term abortions. Translated, Gosnell was an expert in infanticide and practiced it regularly in the presence of multiple others, who in turn did nothing. This begs the question– in the greatest country on earth, can’t we do better than allowing the slaughter of innocent children at the hands of a man so full of greed and evil that he killed them in spite of seeing and hearing them move, breathe and cry?
After a 6 week trial, Gosnell has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of three infants (known as babies A, C and D) and third-degree murder in the death of a 41-year old patient named Karnamaya Mongar. A relatively small amount of evidence was found, because Gosnell allegedly destroyed most of the files that recorded what went on in his “house of horrors.”
Baby boy A, murdered by “snipping,” was, as estimated by one of Gosnell’s employees, “approaching six pounds.” The baby was too big to fully fit into the shoebox Gosnell tossed his body in; he joked– joked, after murdering the child– that the baby was so big he could “walk me to the bus stop.” Employee Kareema Cross saw him pull his arms and legs into the box; Gosnell described these movements as merely “reflexes” and not the result of a living child. Baby A’s 17-year old mother was 7 1/2 months (30 weeks) pregnant when the abortion was performed.
Baby C was over 25 weeks old when he or she was murdered. Employee Kareema Cross testified that she saw the child breathing, its chest moving up and down, and saw it pull its arm away from employee Linda Williams as she lifted it up. The child was breathing for 20 minutes before Williams snipped the child’s neck. Gosnell stood close by.
Baby D was, as described by witnesses, 12-15 inches long and had a head the size of a “big pancake.” After being delivered into a toilet, Cross testified that she saw the child struggling to get out; employee Adrienne Moton came in, pulled the child out, and snipped its neck as the mother stood watching.
Gosnell was also convicted of third-degree murder in the death of 41-year old Karnamaya Mongar, who died by overdose of drugs during a legal abortion.
Reports show that people and state officials in Pennsylvania were aware of what went on in Gosnell’s clinic, but chose to remain silent. Rather than follow the law and inspect abortion facilities according to state standards, officials in the Pennsylvania Department of Health chose to largely ignore these clinics when it came to inspecting them for compliance with state laws. Pennsylvania’s already-lenient abortion laws were even disregarded in exchange for “my body, my choice”– a phrase taken so out of context that it now allowed and even justified infanticide.
Gosnell’s clinic was in such bad conditions that when, on the day after Karnamaya Mongar’s death in 2009, Gosnell applied for membership in the National Abortions Federation, he couldn’t even meet their measly standards. It goes farther– a NAF staff member spent several days in Gosnell’s clinic observing the violations there and still did nothing to stop the infanticide. The silence indicates approval– support– endorsement– of the infanticide and horrific conditions and actions performed on these women.
Gosnell’s practices weren’t even brought to light because of his torturous murders of children– his illegal distribution of painkillers brought authorities to his clinic, where they had no choice but to open the case for the public to see what was happening. We are the greatest nation on earth– people flock here by the thousands each year, seeking freedom and opportunity that they have nowhere else. In such a country, how are we allowing such brutal murder of the most innocent among us?
Can’t we do better than this?
Put politics aside. As Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn said, “Gosnell has debunked the myth that abortion in America is safe, legal and rare.” Gosnell’s actions were pushed under the rug to allegedly ensure a woman the ability to “choose.” This myth has to end– we simply cannot continue allowing the murder of these innocent children to do away with someone else’s selfishness or wrong decisions. These children deserve life; yet, the most basic human right of life is being taken away from them before they can ever say a word. Gosnell dismembered these babies– he punctured their necks with scissors and tossed them into the trash. This isn’t a rarity– this is the abortion industry in America.
We can do better than this. We can stand up for life in its most vulnerable state. We can debunk the false notions that women always need abortion to survive. We can stop the genocide going on within our own borders and begin protecting those who can’t speak for themselves. We can prevent another Gosnell– but it takes acknowledging the horrors of today’s abortions and standing up to those who defend them. Don’t back down now. The lives of thousands of innocent children hang in the balance.
