Abortion provider Dr. Kermit Gosnell (72) was found guilty today of first-degree murder. First charged in January 2011, Gosnell had been accused of the murder of 21 unborn babies who had been over 24 weeks old, and the deaths of two patients as a result of his practice.
Gosnell ran a clinic in Philadelphia; his clients being either immigrant, minority, or low-income women.
During the day, Gosnell's clinic sold dangerous and expired medical drugs to his clients and wrote fake medical prescriptions. By night, the clinic turned into an abortion center, where Gosnell and his staff performed illegal and dangerous abortions. These abortions removed almost fully developed, breathing babies who were killed illegally.
Gosnell was an actual doctor, however his staff had no medical licenses and little medical experience. One of his staff members included a high school teenager, who was trusted to give patients anesthesia and perform other tasks.
The equipment used to perform the abortions were extremely unsanitary and malfunctioning, making it dangerous for the women who often developed serious medical conditions after their abortions. Gosnell and his staff often overdosed their patients on drugs, and they would be left for hours in the clinic without proper medical attention.
In the coming months, it will be decided whether or not Gosnell will pay the ultimate price of the death sentence for his crimes.
How could a clinic such as this run for so long? Why hadn't there been any investigation on the clinic sooner? Do you think Gosnell should receive the death sentence?
4 comments:
Though I do see that Gosnell was giving minorities and low-income women a way to get an abortion, the way Gosnell went about it was very unethical, illegal and unsafe. In Massachusetts, abortions after the 24th week are prohibited unless the health and safety of either mother or child was compromised. It seems like in Gosnell's cases, none of these were an issue. Therefore, I think Gosnell should receive the death sentence. Though it may seem unethical, he did kill 21 babies that were well over the halfway point in a pregnancy.
When I read this post I had the exact same questions posed in the conclusion. It baffles me that this clinic could have survived for so long. I agree with Grace in that the clinic, while providing a method of abortion to impoverished women, the practices used by Dr. Gosnell were completely inhumane. Frankly, reading some of the details in articles related to his practice reminds me of the human trafficking industry, especially the misuse of drugs and anesthetics. I do not have a fully formed opinion on the death penalty issue, but I definitely believe Gosnell should at least spend the rest of his life behind bars, without a chance of parole. He prayed on the most vulnerable women he could find simply in the interest of profit and that is inexcusable.
Wow. I'm slightly speechless. There's no question that Gosnell should be seriously punished for what he has done. Besides my initial reaction of shock and disgust, my second reaction was wondering if this could have been prevented if the issue of abortion wasn't such a controversial issue and more people could openly talk about it and monitor abortion clinics. If marginalized women weren't forced to go to sketch places like this and people could have been more vocal about their experiences there to discourage other people from going without the fear of being judged or stigmatized, maybe some of these deaths and tragedies could have been prevented.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/justice/pennsylvania-abortion-doctor-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
The above link states that Gosnell traded his right to appeal in exchange for not being able to get the death penalty. Makes you think twice about the justice system.
This is a sick story. He killed the babies by "cutting their spinal cords with scissors." Thankfully prison isn't a suitable place for the doctor.
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