RealChoice: Gosnell: The One that Got Away & Hope for Others

Ann McElhinney, one of the team currently crowdfunding a movie about serial killer Kermit Gosnell, lost her composure while reading part of the Grand Jury Report on his crimes.

But it wasn't the horror or the tragedy that left Ann so moved. It was the child that escaped, who didn't end up just another tiny body frozen in an empty orange juice carton.

From the Grand Jury Report:

We learned of another illegal, third-trimester abortion only because the mother changed her mind. In 2004, a 27-year-old woman went to Gosnell, pregnant with her first child. She testified that she was surprised when Gosnell told her she was 21 weeks pregnant. On the first day of what was to be a two-day procedure, Gosnell inserted dilators in the woman’s cervix. After Gosnell had finished inserting the laminaria, the woman asked him what happened to the babies after they were aborted. She testified that Gosnell told her they were burned.

At home, thinking over how Gosnell disposed of the fetuses, the woman had a change of heart. She called her cousin and the cousin called Gosnell to tell him that they wanted him to take the laminaria out. Gosnell said that he could not do that once the procedure was started. And he did not want to return the $1,300 that the patient had already paid. The pregnant woman ended up going to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania to have the laminaria removed. It was determined at the hospital that she was 29 weeks pregnant. A few days later, the 27-year-old delivered a premature baby girl. She was treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is today a healthy kindergartener.

It's not at all unusual for an abortionist to lie to a woman who changes her mind and wants the laminaria removed.

Lied to: Tamiia Russell

Staff at Alberto "Licensed to Lie" Hodari's abortion clinic near Detroit told the family of 15-year-old statutory rape victim Tamiia Russell that she could not have the laminaria removed and the abortion halted. Hodari subsequently botched the abortion, and Tamiia bled to death.

Nicolette C changed her mind about a late abortion at Douglas Karpen's Houston abortion facility. Karpen not only refused to remove them, but lied to Nicolette and told her that it was impossible to remove them without endangering her life. After repeated scare tactics, Karpen finally sent Nicolette on her way with instructions to find an anti-abortion group in the Yellow Pages. Nicolette sought emergency care at a hospital, where she delivered a 1 lb. 13 oz. infant girl, who she named Ashley. Despite efforts by hospital staff, Ashley died six months later.

Gosnell worked
at a NAF clinic.

I listened to a tape of Karpen complaining at a National Abortion Federation meeting about how the prolifers were annoying him by offering to take his patients to a doctor who would remove the laminaria and allow them to continue their pregnancies. He complained about the patients he was losing that way. He asked for suggestions -- all of which centered around making the patient sign a paper promising that she would follow through with the abortion no matter what. Nobody ever addressed the obvious: If patients are changing their minds even after the abortion is started, maybe the clinic should stop initiating abortions on women who are so uncertain.

One possible benefit of the Gosnell movie could be raising awareness that as long as the baby is still alive, it's not too late to at least try to halt the abortion. The laminaria can be removed. I don't know if there have been any studies to date that provide data on outcomes. The alternative to laminaria removal, however, is the certain death of the baby via abortion.

Supporting the Gosnell movie just might save a child's life, and spare a mother a lifetime of regret. A contribution to GosnellMovie.com need not set you back any more than $1 -- less than the cost of a cup of coffee or a bottle of water. If you can't contribute, or have already contributed funding, keep in mind that both prayer and spreading the word about the project are also vital contributions to the efforts. Together we spread a message of hope to women who think that it's too late.