Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Gosnell: The Untold Story -- Finishing Chapter Three: "Gosnell Thinks He's Innocent"

I'm still working on Gosnell: The Untold Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer, by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer. As I listen, I'm blogging about relevant material that I know from over 35 years of abortion research. Links to previous commentaries are at the bottom of this post.

"Gosnell Thinks He's Innocent"

This gets back to the fact that the shocking thing about the Gosnell case is that it was vigorously and successfully prosecuted. What he was doing differed from what other abortionists do primarily in degree, not existentially. Killing born alive babies, having unqualified staff, performing illegal third-trimester abortions, faking patient records, having a dirty facility, dealing drugs, stockpiling fetal remains, having no functioning emergency equipment …. The only thing that I've seen in other clinics that Gosnell wasn't doing was sexually abusing patients. Of course Gosnell must feel bewildered that he's in prison for life for doing what other people do and get away with. Thank you, Detective Jim Wood. I wish there was somebody like you holding every abortionist in this country accountable for the things they do.

Think about how big a part of the abortion establishment Gosnell was.

He attended National Abortion Federation events. These are a chance for abortion workers to really relax among their fellows and talk about things that they won't talk about in public. They're a setting where it's safe to laugh about a baby's eyeball falling into your lap. It's a place where it's safe to admit that you do dangerous things and while you might get scolded, nobody is going to rat you out. So I have little doubt that Gosnell and his buddies swapped stories and gave each other helpful hints. I remember listening to one NAF tape where a woman was telling her fellows how to deal with the media after a patient death: "You have to look compassionate. You have to sound compassionate. And that's hard, I know."

I have absolutely zero doubt that Gosnell expected to get the same treatment Bruce Steir did when he killed Sharon Hamplton. He thought his friends would rally around him. He expected to get the support George Tiller got when Phil Kline was trying to hold him accountable for perpetrating illegal third trimester abortions.

In a way, I almost feel sorry for him. I've never been able to figure out why some abortionists are thrown under the bus, others are ignored, and others are defended. And I get the feeling Gosnell is wondering the same thing.



Prior posts:


1 comment:

L. said...

Do you really see no difference in killing babies after birth, and before? Wow, I guess I should be in jail like Gosnell because I gleefully poisoned my own unwanted little buggers when they were zygotes. Why wasn't I thrown under the bus for being grateful that I was able to murder all of MY unwanted children? ;)