Abortion doctor charged with murder
Associated Press writers Patrick Walters and Maryclaire Dale report:
A Pennsylvania abortion doctor who catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women was charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, made millions of dollars over 30 years, performing as many illegal, late-term abortions as he could, prosecutors said. State regulators ignored complaints about him and failed to visit or inspect his clinic since 1993, but no charges were warranted against them, District Attorney Seth Williams said.
Gosnell "induced labor, forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, eighth month of pregnancy and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord," Williams said.
Williams said patients were subjected to squalid and barbaric conditions at Gosnell's Women's Medical Society.
Authorities went to investigate drug-related complaints at the clinic last year and stumbled on what Williams called a "house of horrors."
"There were bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses were scattered throughout the building," Williams said. "There were jars, lining shelves, with severed feet that he kept for no medical purpose."
The clinic was shut down and Gosnell's medical license was suspended after the raid.
Workers, some of whom were also charged with murder, were untrained and unlicensed, including a high-school student who performed anesthesia with potentially lethal narcotics, Williams said.
Gosnell and nine other employees are in custody, authorities said.
Gosnell has been named in at least 10 malpractice suits, including one over the death of a woman who died of sepsis and a perforated uterus.
Comments
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said: "We are thrilled at the diligence done by authorities in Pennsylvania who have worked to protect the public from this serial killer and bring Gosnell and his cohorts to justice," according to Christian Newswire.
Yet the current article says that State regulators ignored complaints about him and failed to visit or inspect his clinic since 1993. The adult victim, Karnamaya Mongar, was killed in 2009. That doesn’t sound like “diligence” to me. What is Operation Rescue thrilled about?
Posted by: Dana | January 19, 2011 1:21 PM
So where are the liberal ramblers here who support abortion? In support of this man or against and why? Maybe abortion shouldnt be legal to begin with.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 19, 2011 1:31 PM
I'm disappointed that professional journalists continue to use the phrase "abortion doctor," which is designed to cast its subject in a negative light from the outset. "A Pennsylvania doctor who performed abortions..." would convey the same information without the load of implied guilt.
Posted by: Ol' Scrapiron | January 19, 2011 1:39 PM
The article states that this man was performing "illegal" abortions. Also, it sounds like he wasn't a very capable doctor to begin with.
I fully support a woman's right to choose, however, I think most people would agree that any medical procedure should be performed by capable physicians who are following the law.
Posted by: Bud | January 19, 2011 2:10 PM
Ol' Scrapiron, I think the "load of implied guilt" comes from the jars of children and their body parts found in his office, not from the label "abortion doctor." Yes, it casts a "negative light" on him. Maybe you can tell me how you would cast a positive light on what the authorities have called his "house of horrors."
Posted by: Sweeney Todd | January 19, 2011 2:18 PM
Sweeney Todd, what I object to is supposedly professional journalists using loaded language instead of letting the facts speak for themselves. My opinion of the doctor, if the allegations in the article are correct, is probably much the same as yours.
Posted by: Ol' Scrapiron | January 19, 2011 2:33 PM
Ol' Scrapiron maybe you should consider that implied guilt is simply your conscience telling you what you are trying so hard to deny. A surgeon who performs plastic surgery a plastic surgeon correct?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 19, 2011 2:49 PM
I fail to see the difference also. I don’t see the Sun pushing an agenda or using loaded language. The authors were following accepted journalistic practice.
The Associated Press Stylebook says:
“Use "anti-abortion" instead of "pro-life" and "abortion rights" instead of "pro-abortion" or "pro-choice." Avoid "abortionist," which connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions; use a term such as "abortion doctor" or "abortion practitioner."”
Posted by: Dana | January 19, 2011 5:26 PM