There is a trial happening in Phildelphia, that is playing out like a fictional horror movie of a mad, murderous doctor who drugs women and kills babies. Sadly this is not a movie. Kermit Goosnell, a 72-year old doctor, has been accused of five murders --one woman and four babies, in an abortion clinic containing unlicensed staff and unsanitary conditions.
One of the victims, Karnamaya Mongar was a 41-year old mother of three. Mongar survived a Bhutan refugee camp for 20 years, only to die months after arriving to the U.S., under the deadly care of Kermit Gosnell. She is said to have been 14-15 weeks pregnant, when she was turned down by three clinics before finding Dr. Gosnell for a to a two-day abortion procedure. On the first day, she was given labor-inducing drugs and pain killers. The next day after waiting hours for Gosnell to arrive for the procedure, Mongar's daughter said her mother was in much pain, given additional drugs for the procedure, then left unmonitored. Complications arose when Mongar stopped breathing and was rushed from the clinic to the hospital. Mongar died the next day due to a Demerol overdose.
Horrifying details are emerging within this trial. Hundreds of babies born alive, were snipped at the spine with scissors, after being delivered. Gosnell reported to have even joking after killing one of the infants. The Grand Jury Report contains accounts and photos so gruesome and highly disturbing I cannot even bring myself to write them, but it's all there on record for the public to read. Fetus body parts were found kept in jars. One witness said she saw one of the babies cry before being murdered. How do we even wrap our head around this.
Eight employees involved in the crimes, have pleaded guilty. Gosnell continues to plead not guilty. In Pennsylvania, he could face the death penalty.
Pro-Choice and Anti-Choice (aka Pro-Life) groups alike, are are stunned by this incredible case. Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood Federation said:
"We have consistently said that this is a horrifying and outrageous case, that Gosnell ran a criminal enterprise, not a health care facility, and that he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
I am a mother and Pro-Choice activist sick, angered, and appalled that this could happen in this day and age, and I have to wonder how many more illegal abortion clinics may be out there. This is why I join the millions who continue to support and defend organizations like Planned Parenthood. Women's rights organizations, NOW nara NARAL, UniteWomen.org, and NFA also diligently fight for abortion safety under U.S. law. It is hard to believe Gosnell was able to get away such with atrocities for years, while licensed abortion providers are being murdered at legal health clinics. Planned Parenthood facilities have been bombed, set on fire and vandalized. One Planned Parenthood building was broken into by a man with an ax, as recently as three weeks ago.
Perhaps this case will bring more understanding to the importance of keeping abortion legal. And how about we start with free and accessible birth control, which leads to fewer unintended pregnancies and thus fewer abortions, --ultimately leading to less chances of a monsters like Gosnell being to get away with murder.
"If These Walls Could Talk," released in 1996 is a trilogy of three women who lived in the same house at different times: 1952, 1974 and 1996. The story tells of how each woman faced her unplanned pregnancy and will remind many of us why we fought so hard for safe and legal abortions. The trilogy includes pro-choice activist actors, Demi Moore, Cher, and Sissy Spacek. It's one film I cannot forget. This Kermit Gosnell case? It's one I will not let myself forget.