PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A West Philadelphia abortion doctor, his wife and eight other suspects are now under arrest following a grand jury investigation.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, faces eight counts of murder in the deaths of a woman following a botched abortion at his office, along with the deaths of seven other babies who, prosecutors allege, were born alive following illegal late-term abortions and then were killed by severing their spinal cords with a pair of scissors.
“I am aware that abortion is a hot-button topic,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “But as district attorney, my job is to carry out the law. A doctor who knowingly and systematically mistreats female patients, to the point that one of them dies in his so-called care, commits murder under the law. A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.”
Gosnell is facing charges of murder in the third degree for the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar. Mrs. Mongar died on November 20, 2009, when she was overdosed with anesthetics prescribed by Gosnell. He is also facing seven murder charges for the deaths of infants who were killed after being born viable and alive during the sixth, seventh, or eighth month of pregnancy. Gosnell is also facing numerous other charges.
Gosnell is suspected of killing hundreds of living babies over the course of his 30-year practice. However, he is not charged because the records do not exist.
DA Williams said Gosnell made approximately $1.8 million in one year alone performing the procedures.
Four of the suspects, some improperly licensed according to officials, also face multiple counts of murder for allegedly killing the newborns. All of the suspects are now behind bars after warrants were served overnight.
A search of Gosnell’s office, called the Women’s Medical Society, revealed that bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses were scattered throughout the building. Jars containing the severed feet of babies lined a shelf.
Gosnell, a family practioner, was never certified as an OB/GYN. He is accused of re-using unsanitary instruments and performing procedures in filthy rooms. Some of the rooms had litter boxes and animals present at the time of the operations.
Investigators also said Gosnell allowed unlicensed employees, including a 15-year-old high school student, to perform operations and administer anesthesia.
The grand jury investigation revealed that, for over two decades, government health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell’s dangerous practices. However, no action was ever taken, even after the agencies learned that Mrs. Mongar had died during routine abortions under Gosnell’s care (see related story).
As I read this article my body became numb and my heart went out to these children unnecessarily ravaged and murdered; yanked from the warmth and security of their mothers’ wombs and discarded into cardboard boxes and trash cans. For this to have continued for as long as it did with as many victims as there were with no outcry from any of the witnesses to the horror is a testament to all that is wrong with society today. And as quickly as the news broke, it faded from the headlines into obscurity. If you happened to Google “Abortion Doctor,” there are more articles on the shooting of an abortion doctor in 1999 than a doctor responsible for killing over 120 victims. One has to ask why did this happen? How can a group of people, responsible for such a heinous act, not remain in the headlines for weeks, even months?
This society has become desensitized to abortion so much that when something as horrific as what just occurred is confronted with a deafening silence that is as shameful as the evil acts themselves. We need to ask ourselves, “What would have been the reaction if the 120 victims were teenagers systematically murdered by the same group of individuals? The media coverage would have been unprecedented.
It is a sad state of affairs but it is true. The more a society is exposed to something it becomes accustomed to it; thus it becomes accepted to a certain degree. That is why, when somebody wants to make something a cultural norm or wants something to be accepted; it is mentioned continuously, systematically, until there is a casual response to its presence. Something familiar is always more comfortable than something that is foreign. That is what is known as propaganda.
Media outlets provide a 24 hour news cycle filled with murder, violence, and salacious acts. We are bombarded with thoughts, opinions, and actions. What would have been considered outlandish behavior 10 or 15 years ago is now ignored. What a dangerous, unstable path that is.
As we are experiencing the worst recession in 80 years, some conditions have arisen that we do have to acknowledge. People are suffering, families are at risk, and those that we are commissioned to protect (the most venerable in our society) are the ones that are most threatened. More young women, teenagers in fact, are turning to prostitution as a means to escape the cycle of poverty or to fix a long-term problem with a short-term solution. That introduced to a world of drugs, disease, debauchery, and violence. Personhood is reduced to a shell while they are categorized as objects to be consumed. Yet, this is accepted as well as sexual deviancy and a culture wrought with over-indulgence and consumerism.
There are things existent that threaten the human condition. These things tell us that a person is an object; two dimensional in nature and something that is not unique and beautiful in its own right. Drugs, alcohol, violence, sickness, and war are common words and a common force that have become accepted in the present. In reality, they are a threat to our personhood. And what exactly is personhood? It is when someone steps forwards and says, “I am an individual, with individual thoughts and feelings. I laugh, I cry, I touch, and I know. I love. I am a Child of God, and because of that, I am entitled to the following things: life, love, freedom, food, clothing, shelter, and happiness.
Everyone on this earth is entitled to these things and no one has a right to take them away from. Yet, here we are. In light of this, there is the Holy Mother Church: the Keeper of the Deposit of Faith. She acts as a Beacon of Light and Hope shining forth to the world, standing in stark contrast to what is truly evil in the world. Through the Church, we are all lifted up to new heights and shown the beauty of all God’s Creation.
As Members of the Living Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, it becomes plainly evident what we have to do. We have to continuously walk in the Light of Christ and become examples of the Faith; by what we say and what we do we must encourage others to follow. We must show that the Love of God does indeed conquer all. To walk with Christ gives us all the capability to combat the evil in the world today. It is our responsibility to stand up for these ideals, to fight for those who are unable to fight for themselves. The sick must be comforted, the hungry fed the naked clothed, and the defenseless defended.
All Creation belongs to God. Genesis tells us that we have been given the responsibility of Stewards to Creation. We have been told to guard it, protect it, and enjoy it. Part of that stewardship is that when we see something wrong, we fix it.
You know, that does infuriate some people. We are called zealots and extremists; yet we are the ones who profess that all life is precious from the moment of conception to natural death. Shouldn’t the opposite be true? Shouldn’t those who defend the right of terminating a life regardless of the reason be the ones classified as zealots? What is a Reproductive Right? What is a Health issue when the health or well-being of a child is never considered?
Where are the child’s rights? Where that child is’s right to live, to be.
There are times during Our Journey of Faith that we will be asked to stand up and be counted; to profess our beliefs and act on our beliefs. When it comes to the question of Life, this is one of those times.HILADELPHIA (CBS) – A West Philadelphia abortion doctor, his wife and eight other suspects are now under arrest following a grand jury investigation.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, faces eight counts of murder in the deaths of a woman following a botched abortion at his office, along with the deaths of seven other babies who, prosecutors allege, were born alive following illegal late-term abortions and then were killed by severing their spinal cords with a pair of scissors.
“I am aware that abortion is a hot-button topic,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “But as district attorney, my job is to carry out the law. A doctor who knowingly and systematically mistreats female patients, to the point that one of them dies in his so-called care, commits murder under the law. A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.”
Gosnell is facing charges of murder in the third degree for the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar. Mrs. Mongar died on November 20, 2009, when she was overdosed with anesthetics prescribed by Gosnell. He is also facing seven murder charges for the deaths of infants who were killed after being born viable and alive during the sixth, seventh, or eighth month of pregnancy. Gosnell is also facing numerous other charges.
Gosnell is suspected of killing hundreds of living babies over the course of his 30-year practice. However, he is not charged because the records do not exist.
DA Williams said Gosnell made approximately $1.8 million in one year alone performing the procedures.
Four of the suspects, some improperly licensed according to officials, also face multiple counts of murder for allegedly killing the newborns. All of the suspects are now behind bars after warrants were served overnight.
A search of Gosnell’s office, called the Women’s Medical Society, revealed that bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses were scattered throughout the building. Jars containing the severed feet of babies lined a shelf.
Gosnell, a family practioner, was never certified as an OB/GYN. He is accused of re-using unsanitary instruments and performing procedures in filthy rooms. Some of the rooms had litter boxes and animals present at the time of the operations.
Investigators also said Gosnell allowed unlicensed employees, including a 15-year-old high school student, to perform operations and administer anesthesia.
The grand jury investigation revealed that, for over two decades, government health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell’s dangerous practices. However, no action was ever taken, even after the agencies learned that Mrs. Mongar had died during routine abortions under Gosnell’s care (see related story).
As I read this article my body became numb and my heart went out to these children unnecessarily ravaged and murdered; yanked from the warmth and security of their mothers’ wombs and discarded into cardboard boxes and trash cans. For this to have continued for as long as it did with as many victims as there were with no outcry from any of the witnesses to the horror is a testament to all that is wrong with society today. And as quickly as the news broke, it faded from the headlines into obscurity. If you happened to Google “Abortion Doctor,” there are more articles on the shooting of an abortion doctor in 1999 than a doctor responsible for killing over 120 victims. One has to ask why did this happen? How can a group of people, responsible for such a heinous act, not remain in the headlines for weeks, even months?
This society has become desensitized to abortion so much that when something as horrific as what just occurred is confronted with a deafening silence that is as shameful as the evil acts themselves. We need to ask ourselves, “What would have been the reaction if the 120 victims were teenagers systematically murdered by the same group of individuals? The media coverage would have been unprecedented.
It is a sad state of affairs but it is true. The more a society is exposed to something it becomes accustomed to it; thus it becomes accepted to a certain degree. That is why, when somebody wants to make something a cultural norm or wants something to be accepted; it is mentioned continuously, systematically, until there is a casual response to its presence. Something familiar is always more comfortable than something that is foreign. That is what is known as propaganda.
Media outlets provide a 24 hour news cycle filled with murder, violence, and salacious acts. We are bombarded with thoughts, opinions, and actions. What would have been considered outlandish behavior 10 or 15 years ago is now ignored. What a dangerous, unstable path that is.
As we are experiencing the worst recession in 80 years, some conditions have arisen that we do have to acknowledge. People are suffering, families are at risk, and those that we are commissioned to protect (the most venerable in our society) are the ones that are most threatened. More young women, teenagers in fact, are turning to prostitution as a means to escape the cycle of poverty or to fix a long-term problem with a short-term solution. That introduced to a world of drugs, disease, debauchery, and violence. Personhood is reduced to a shell while they are categorized as objects to be consumed. Yet, this is accepted as well as sexual deviancy and a culture wrought with over-indulgence and consumerism.
There are things existent that threaten the human condition. These things tell us that a person is an object; two dimensional in nature and something that is not unique and beautiful in its own right. Drugs, alcohol, violence, sickness, and war are common words and a common force that have become accepted in the present. In reality, they are a threat to our personhood. And what exactly is personhood? It is when someone steps forwards and says, “I am an individual, with individual thoughts and feelings. I laugh, I cry, I touch, and I know. I love. I am a Child of God, and because of that, I am entitled to the following things: life, love, freedom, food, clothing, shelter, and happiness.
Everyone on this earth is entitled to these things and no one has a right to take them away from. Yet, here we are. In light of this, there is the Holy Mother Church: the Keeper of the Deposit of Faith. She acts as a Beacon of Light and Hope shining forth to the world, standing in stark contrast to what is truly evil in the world. Through the Church, we are all lifted up to new heights and shown the beauty of all God’s Creation.
As Members of the Living Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, it becomes plainly evident what we have to do. We have to continuously walk in the Light of Christ and become examples of the Faith; by what we say and what we do we must encourage others to follow. We must show that the Love of God does indeed conquer all. To walk with Christ gives us all the capability to combat the evil in the world today. It is our responsibility to stand up for these ideals, to fight for those who are unable to fight for themselves. The sick must be comforted, the hungry fed the naked clothed, and the defenseless defended.
All Creation belongs to God. Genesis tells us that we have been given the responsibility of Stewards to Creation. We have been told to guard it, protect it, and enjoy it. Part of that stewardship is that when we see something wrong, we fix it.
You know, that does infuriate some people. We are called zealots and extremists; yet we are the ones who profess that all life is precious from the moment of conception to natural death. Shouldn’t the opposite be true? Shouldn’t those who defend the right of terminating a life regardless of the reason be the ones classified as zealots? What is a Reproductive Right? What is a Health issue when the health or well-being of a child is never considered?
Where are the child’s rights? Where that child is’s right to live, to be.
There are times during Our Journey of Faith that we will be asked to stand up and be counted; to profess our beliefs and act on our beliefs. When it comes to the question of Life, this is one of those times.
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