Doctor's Murder Trial Stokes Abortion Debate - Wall Street Journal

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By PETER LOFTUS

Kermit B. Gosnell, shown in 2010, is being tried on charges of killing seven babies at a Philadelphia clinic.

PHILADELPHIA—The murder trial of a Philadelphia doctor charged in the deaths of seven babies and a woman undergoing an abortion procedure has become the latest flashpoint in the long-running debate over abortion.

Kermit B. Gosnell, 72 years old, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, operated the Women's Medical Society in Philadelphia for more than three decades until his medical license was suspended in 2010, after government authorities found unsanitary conditions at the clinic, including blood on the floor and parts of discarded fetuses in containers.

In a trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that began in March and is expected to last another four weeks, city prosecutors have alleged Dr. Gosnell—and staff members at his direction—killed babies after they were born, in some cases by plunging scissors into the babies' spinal cords. He is also accused of performing illegal, late-term abortions and related charges.

Dr. Gosnell also stands accused in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old grandmother who came to the clinic for an abortion in November 2009. A grand-jury report said Dr. Gosnell directed his staff—who weren't licensed to give anesthesia—to sedate Ms. Mongar for the procedure, and she died of an overdose. Her relatives testified on Tuesday.

Dr. Gosnell's defense lawyer, Jack McMahon, said no babies were born alive, and unforeseen complications caused the overdose death of the woman who died, according to the Associated Press. Mr. McMahon and other lawyers in the case are under a judge's gag order not to discuss it publicly while the trial is under way.

Opponents of abortion say the charges against Dr. Gosnell underscore the violence inherent in the act of terminating pregnancies. They also say the case shows the need for greater regulation of conditions at abortion clinics. Dr. Gosnell's clinic wasn't inspected by Pennsylvania health authorities during a 17-year stretch ending in 2010. His indictment in 2011 played a role in Pennsylvania's enactment of stricter regulations governing inspections of abortion clinics, which took effect last year.

"He was a particularly egregious abortion practitioner, but I think that is the nature of the business," said Edel Finnegan, director of the Pro Life Union of Greater Philadelphia, an antiabortion group. "I hope it opens people's eyes to the reality of abortion and the humanity of the unborn child, and that we can always offer women more than that."

Abortion-rights backers condemned the alleged practices at Dr. Gosnell's clinic that have been described at the trial, but said the case supports the need for women's access to safe abortion procedures. They note that many of Dr. Gosnell's patients were poor women who didn't have access to procedures at clinics with safer practices. "The best way to make sure people like Gosnell cannot prey on desperate women is to ensure that abortion stays legal and financially accessible for all women, as is their constitutional right," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

The trial has reached the attention of the White House. At a press briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked whether President Barack Obama is following developments in the Gosnell trial.

Mr. Carney said the president "is aware of this." He described the case as "unsettling," but said he would not comment on "an ongoing legal proceeding."

Details of the charges against Dr. Gosnell have been gruesome. According to the 2011 grand-jury report, his staff often witnessed him killing large, late-term babies, who were breathing and moving. He also instructed some staff members to do the same, according to the report. The grand jury said it couldn't obtain an exact number of babies allegedly killed this way, but there was specific evidence for seven such killings.

In one case in July 2008, a 17-year-old girl was 29 weeks pregnant, according to the grand-jury report. Dr. Gosnell induced labor and sedated the mother, who gave birth to a boy whom Dr. Gosnell joked was big enough "to walk me to the bus stop." The staffer saw the baby breathe and move, but Dr. Gosnell dismissed this as reflexes, and "slit the neck" of the baby, placing its remains in a clear plastic shoebox for disposal, according to the grand-jury report.

On Monday, Philadelphia's chief medical examiner, Sam P. Gulino, described to the jury his examination of the remains of about 47 fetuses that were taken from Dr. Gosnell's clinic in 2009 and 2010. He said some had been stored in what appeared to be drink and pet-food containers, and kept in a freezer. He also said he received specimen jars containing the severed feet of fetuses.

Eight clinic employees have pleaded guilty to various charges, according to the Associated Press. A ninth employee, Eileen O'Neill, is on trial with Dr. Gosnell on charges of participating in a corrupt organization.

—Peter Nicholas contributed to this article.

Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@dowjones.com

A version of this article appeared April 17, 2013, on page A8 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Doctor's Murder Trial Stokes Abortion Debate.

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