Kermit Gosnell

File:Kermit Gosnell mug.jpg

Kermit Gosnell photographed following his arrestTemplate:Pufc

Kermit Barron Gosnell is an American doctor who ran two women's health clinics in Philadelphia between 1972 and 2011, and as of April 2013, is on trial for first and third degree murder, illegal prescribing of drugs, and related offenses.

Following an FBI and DEA raid in 2010, Gosnell was arrested in January 2011 and charged with eight counts of murder resulting from gross medical malpractice in treatment of patients at his clinics. These related to a patient who died while under his care, seven infants said to have been killed after being born alive, and illegal prescriptions of medications. Through his lawyer, Gosnell denied the allegations.

The charge of murder was recommended by a grand jury against Gosnell and several employees. CNN reported in March 2011 that prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty. A number of clinic employees had already pled guilty to similar charges in their trials (including charges of third degree murder); several had testified to "snipping" the spines of aborted fetuses or babies. One of these, Steven Massof, testified that he had personally done this over a hundred times, describing it as a "standard procedure" at the clinics. The trial began on March 18, 2013.

Background and early career

Kermit Gosnell was born on February 9, 1941, the only child of a gas station operator and government clerk. He was a top student at the city's prestigious Central High School which he graduated from in 1959. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College Carlisle PA and completed his Medical Degree at the Jefferson Medical School in 1966. It has been reported that he spent four decades practicing medicine among the poor including the creation of a drug half-way house in the impoverished Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia, near where he grew up and a teen aid program. He became an early proponent of abortion rights in the 1960s and 1970s and in 1972 he returned from a stint in New York City to open up an abortion clinic on Lancaster Avenue in Mantua.

In the same year, he also performed fifteen televised second-trimester abortions, using an experimental "Super Coil" method invented by psychologist Harvey Karman. The coils were inserted into the uterus, where they caused irritation leading to the expulsion of the fetus. However, complications from the procedure were reported by nine of the women, with three of these reporting severe complications.

Gosnell has been married three times. His third and current wife Pearl, who pled guilty to various charges related to illegal abortions and corruption, worked at the Women's Medical Society as a full-time medical assistant from 1982 until their marriage in 1990. They have two children — the younger being a minor is being cared for by friends — and Gosnell has four further children from previous marriages.

In 2011, he was reported to be well known for providing abortions to poor minority and immigrant women. It was also claimed that Gosnell charged $1,600-$3,000 for each late-term abortion. In covering his background, media commentators drew attention to the "incredibly diverse" portrayals of Gosnell, touching on both his community works - the creation of a drugs halfway house and teen aid program - contrasted with portrayals of his practice as an alleged abortion mill in which viable fetuses and babies were routinely killed following illegal late-term procedures.

Legal case

Prior complaints

Observers have claimed that there was a complete failure by regulators who had overlooked repeated concerns brought to their attention, including lack of trained staff, "barbaric" conditions, and a high level of illegal late-term abortions.

In 2006, Gosnell was unable to complete an abortion for his patient, but apparently waited hours to call paramedics after it was apparent she needed help. The patient reported, "I really felt like he was going to let me die." A civil lawsuit was filed but dismissed as out of time. In total during the course of his career, 46 known lawsuits had been filed against Gosnell over some 32 years.

The FBI and DEA raided his office in February 2010. Public discussion focused on claims of unsanitary conditions and other unacceptable conditions at the practices. Prosecutors alleged that Gosnell had not been certified in either gynecology or obstetrics. Ultimately the concerns raised by this visit led to his 2011 arrest.

2011 arrest and alleged malpractice

Gosnell was arrested on January 19, 2011, and charged with eight counts of murder. Prosecutors allege that he killed seven babies born alive by severing their spinal cords with scissors, and that he was also responsible for the death of a woman, Karnamaya Mongar, who died in his care. Gosnell's wife, Pearl, and eight other suspects were also arrested in connection with the case. The Drug Enforcement Administration, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Inspector General also sought a 23-count indictment charging Gosnell and seven members of his former staff with drug conspiracy, relating to the practice's illegally prescribing highly-addictive painkillers and sedatives outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

Examples of cases cited in the media include:

• Girl age 15, accompanied by relative (1998): said to have told Gosnell she changed her mind about the abortion once inside the practice. Gosnell allegedly got upset, ripped off the patient's clothing, and forcibly restrained her. The patient later stated that Gosnell told her, "This is the same care that I would give to my own daughter." She regained consciousness 12 hours later at her aunt's home, the abortion having been completed against her will.
• Woman age 28, five months pregnant (2001): Patient described the pain four days after abortion as being so bad she could barely walk. The patient described that upon returning to the clinic because of the pain, ultrasound showed fetal remains left inside her womb, and that Gosnell suctioned these out without anesthesia. "I was just laying on the table and crying and I just asked the lord to get me through it."
• Fifteen year old (undated): damages awarded in court upon a finding that Gosnell performed an abortion on a fifteen-year-old without parental permission.
• Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan (2009): according to prosecutors, Gosnell's staff gave the 90-pound woman a lethal dose of anesthesia and painkillers during a 2009 abortion (this is the adult whose death is charged as third degree murder). Gosnell's lawyer asserts that Karnamaya Mongar also had other drugs in her system that did not come from Gosnell's clinic, and that none of the infants were born alive.

The seven other charges are all of first degree murder; they relate to fetuses, or babies, whom staff have testified they saw move or cry, and whose deaths are alleged to have resulted from subsequent lethal action. They arise because of the "born alive rule", a principle of common law which stipulates that by default, for legal purposes, personhood arises - and therefore unlawful killing constituting murder becomes possible - immediately upon the victim's being born alive. (Several US states as well as Federal legislation have more specific laws to protect fetuses and newborn babies, see fetal rights and born alive laws in the United States). Steven Massof, a clinic employee who pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2011, testified that he (Massof) had snipped the spines of more than 100 babies after they had been born alive, and that this was considered "standard procedure" at the clinic; a number of other employees had also testified to the same point. No physical evidence exists for five of the seven cases — charges are based on staff testimony and denied by Gosnell. A photograph exists of the sixth, who allegedly had a gestational age of 30 weeks, and the physical remains were obtained of the seventh.

It is also alleged by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that Gosnell's former office staff at Family and Women's Medical Society (WMS) ran a prescription "pill mill." From June 2008 through February 18, 2010, Gosnell allegedly engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise by writing and dispensing fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of pills of the frequently-abused tablets OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax, and the frequently-abused syrups Phenergan and Promethazine with Codeine. Authorities further allege that Gosnell and his staff allowed customers to purchase multiple prescriptions under multiple names. For the first office visit, Gosnell allegedly charged $115, but that increased around December 2009 when he allegedly increased the initial office visit fee to $150. Staff at the clinic went from writing several hundred prescriptions for controlled substances per month filled at pharmacies in 2008 to over 2,300 filled at pharmacies in January 2010. Gosnell, with the assistance of his staff, is said to have distributed and dispensed more than 500,000 pills containing oxycodone; more than 400,000 pills containing alprazolam; and more than 19,000 ounces of cough syrup containing codeine.

Gosnell's lawyer states that "Everybody's made him the butcher, this, that and the other thing without any trial, without anything being exposed to the public and everybody's found him guilty, that's not right". He accused the government of a "lynching" and stated, "This is a targeted, elitist and racist prosecution of a doctor who's done nothing but give (back) to the poor and the people of West Philadelphia."

Regulatory lapses and failings

Reports state that state officials have failed to visit or inspect Gosnell's practices since 1993. The states of Pennsylvania and New York disciplined Gosnell's practice of medicine. The grand jury report noted that the medical examiner of Delaware County alerted the Pennsylvania Department of Health that Gosnell had performed an illegal abortion on a 14-year-old who was thirty weeks pregnant; it is also claimed the Pennsylvania Department of Health did not act when they became aware of Gosnell's involvement in the death of Karnamaya Mongar.

Brenda Green, executive director of CHOICE, a nonprofit that connects the underinsured and uninsured with health services, told Katha Pollitt of the Nation that "it tried to report complaints from clients, but the department wouldn’t accept them from a third party. Instead, the patients had to fill out a daunting five-page form, available only in English, that required them to reveal their identities upfront and be available to testify in Harrisburg. Even with CHOICE staffers there to help, only two women agreed to fill out the form, and both decided not to submit it. The Department of State and the Philadelphia Public Health Department also had ample warning of dire conditions and took no action."

Trial

In 2011, Gosnell, his wife Pearl, and eight other clinic employees were charged in the case. Eight including Gosnell's wife subsequently pleaded guilty, most of whom will testify against Gosnell, and three of these pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, carrying a 20- to 40-year term. Pearl Gosnell pleaded guilty to performing illegal abortions, conspiracy, criminal conspiracy and corrupt organization; due to spousal privilege, she will not have to testify against Gosnell, although she may still go to prison. She had testified to the grand jury that she alone assisted on Sundays, and that her role was to “help do the instruments” in the procedure room and to monitor patients in the recovery room. Another employee testified that she assisted with late-term abortions “on Sundays or days we were closed [to] do special cases.” She will be sentenced after the conclusion of Dr. Gosnell's trial.

As a result, the only employee on trial with Gosnell is Eileen O'Neill, an employee who allegedly held herself out as a doctor at the clinic when she was not licensed. Her lawyer told jurors she never did so, and only performed medical duties under Gosnell's orders. On March 18, 2013, opening statements were given in a Philadelphia court. Gosnell was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder, as well as multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal solicitation and violation of a state law that forbids abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy.

Gosnell faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the infant deaths.

Media Blackout of Trial

For reasons unknown, most media outlets will not cover this trial, even though this has the potential to be one of the most gruesome and sensational murder trials in recent history, they refuse to acknowledge this as more than just a "local murder trial."Citation Needed

Reactions

Gosnell's arrest has been the subject of much public comment:

• District Attorney of the city of Philadelphia R. Seth Williams "My comprehension of the English language can't adequately describe the barbaric nature of Dr. Gosnell. . . Pennsylvania is not a third-world country, . . . There were several oversight agencies that stumbled upon and should have shut down Kermit Gosnell long ago." Bags and bottles of aborted fetuses "were scattered throughout the building . . . There were jars, lining shelves, with severed feet that he kept for no medical purpose."
• Outgoing Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) criticized Department of Health officials saying; "I was flabbergasted to learn that the Department of Health did not think their authority to protect public health extended to clinics offering abortion services".
• Incoming Governor Tom Corbett (R-PA) was disappointed that Pennsylvania Department of Health officials had done such a poor job of inspecting abortion facilities, saying through a spokesperson that he was; "appalled at the inaction on the part of the Health Department and the Department of State."
• Mayor Michael Nutter (D-Philadelphia) said; "I think it's quite clear that, if these allegations are true, we've had a monster living in our midst" while vowing to watch the city's remaining abortion clinics more closely.
• Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (D-Delaware) promised a wide-ranging investigations into the abortions Gosnell performed in Delaware saying; "I'm disturbed by the allegations that were handed up by the grand jury in Philadelphia".
• Vicki Saporta, speaking for the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers, pointed out that Gosnell had been denied membership in the association because his facility did not meet appropriate standards of care, and commented, "Unfortunately, some women don't know where to turn. You sometimes have substandard providers preying on low-income women who don't know that they do have other (safe) options." Saporta also said, “What we saw didn’t meet our standards, but they’d cleaned the place up and hired an RN for our visit. We only saw first-trimester procedures.”
• Dayle Steinberg, of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, condemned Gosnell, saying, "We would condemn any physician who does not follow the law or endangers anyone’s health...All women should have access to high-quality care when they are vulnerable and facing difficult decisions."
• Former Governor Tom Ridge (Republican) has refused to comment on the matter. It was his administration that ended regular inspections of abortion clinics—a policy that continued until the Gosnell incident. The grand jury report stated that according to officials inspections would be "putting a barrier up to women" seeking abortions. "Warnings--from patients and their attorneys, a doctor at a Philadelphia hospital, women's health groups, pro-choice groups, and even an employee of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health--failed to prompt state and local authorities to investigate or take action against the clinic.""
• The trial has political significance given the controversial issue of abortion. While it has been reported in associated press and around the world, there is a perception among some journalists and pro-life groups that there has been a reluctance to report on the trial among mainstream media.
• Kermit Gosnell gave an interview to Fox 29's Thomas Drayton in February 2011:

• "I expect to be vindicated."
• [Regarding the allegations] "to tell you the truth, I hope to read them in 3 to 6 months [...] because I have lived through negative publicity before."
• "It's something I have personally experienced several times before where my surgical abilities have been challenged, where the choices that I have made have not always been perfect."
• "If you are not making mistakes, you are not really attempting to do something, so I think that my patients are aware that I do my very best by them."
• "The standard that I share with everyone that, I frequently say is that I provide the same care that I would provide my own daughter I feel."
• "I have a story to tell. [...] Thomas, my work to the community is of value."
• Gosnell reported that he received outpouring of support: "letters, I have gotten wonderful little messages of support, and confidence that I am a good person will prevail."

Criticism of media for lack of coverage

In an April 11, 2013 opinion column for USA Today, Kirsten Powers wrote, "A Lexis-Nexis search shows none of the news shows on the three major national television networks has mentioned the Gosnell trial in the last three months. The exception is when Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan hijacked a segment on Meet the Press meant to foment outrage over an anti-abortion rights law in some backward red state. The Washington Post has not published original reporting on this during the trial and The New York Times saw fit to run one original story on A-17 on the trial's first day. They've been silent ever since, despite headline-worthy testimony."

On April 12, 2013, the Getaway Pundit published a photograph of the empty "Reserved media" seats at Gosnell's trial.