Chapter Two: In the Medical Examiner's Office
In Chapter Two, Ann and Phelim recount how Christine Wexler went to the Sam Gulino, the Chief Medical Examiner, to find out if the 47 intact babies found at Gosnell's clinic had been born alive or not. Ms. Wexler wanted the answer to a simple question: Had Gosnell suctioned out the babies' brains, meaning that they had probably been killed in-utero (albeit in an illegal manner), or had he indeed severed their spinal cords after they'd been born?
She was not asking Gulino for much.. Even a little bit of research or even some rational thought on his part would have revealed that suctioning out the brain prior to delivery is a catastrophic injury. You don't have to open the head. Just look at it. Is it collapsed? The brains were suctioned out. Is it head-shaped? The brain is still in there.
Yes, sometimes a doctor who did a "fetal indications" D&X (or IDX or PBA) abortion would make the baby presentable afterwards so that the parents could maintain the illusion that they hadn't signed the baby's death warrant. In order to do that, the doctor would have to stuff the head full of gauze or cotton batting. I know this because I listened to a recording of National Abortion Federation members discussing how to handle such situations. Gosnell wasn't prepping these babies for post-abortion cuddling. He was putting them in kitty litter cartons for storage. But even if, for some ghoulish reason, Gosnell was suctioning out the brains prior to delivery then stuffing the babies' heads full of gauze or cotton batting, the gauze or batting would have clumped up in a small, soggy lump upon thawing. The head would still be collapsed.
Yes, sometimes a doctor who did a "fetal indications" D&X (or IDX or PBA) abortion would make the baby presentable afterwards so that the parents could maintain the illusion that they hadn't signed the baby's death warrant. In order to do that, the doctor would have to stuff the head full of gauze or cotton batting. I know this because I listened to a recording of National Abortion Federation members discussing how to handle such situations. Gosnell wasn't prepping these babies for post-abortion cuddling. He was putting them in kitty litter cartons for storage. But even if, for some ghoulish reason, Gosnell was suctioning out the brains prior to delivery then stuffing the babies' heads full of gauze or cotton batting, the gauze or batting would have clumped up in a small, soggy lump upon thawing. The head would still be collapsed.
Then there's the matter of the incision. For D&X / IDX / PBA, the surgical scissors are pressed against the base of the skull in a closed position then forced through to make a hole. The abortionist does not want to be pushing open scissors into the uterus. After the scissors puncture the skin, the abortionist opens the scissors to make the hole wider. This would be a fairly blunt puncture wound. Gosnell was using open scissors to slice the skin and then cut through the spine. This is a sharp, cutting wound. Any marginally capable Medical Examiner should be able to distinguish between a wound made by closed scissors being forced through the skin and one made by sharp scissors cutting the skin.
So what was wrong with Dr. Gulino? Was he too lazy to do a little research into how to do his job? Was he pissed off that he was being asked to step outside his comfort zone? Was he a rabid abortion-rights supporter angry that poor Dr. Gosnell was being picked on?
Your guess is as good as mine. What we do know for sure is that there was no legitimate reason for Dr. Gulino to tell Christine Wexler that she had to open those heads. He had no excuse for making that woman endure such a horrifying experience. That was just inexcusable. Intact baby + no digoxin in Gosnell's building = live births.
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