Kermit Gosnell, whose clinic in West Philadelphia was described as a “house of horrors,” has been found guilty of three counts of first degree murder, and may face the death penalty.
This horrible story does have a lesson for us, although it’s not the lesson the anti-choice movement seeks to promote: The Lessons of the Gosnell Case: Exactly the Opposite of the Right Wing Spin.
1 |
Targetpractice Mon, May 13, 2013 1:06:25pm |
The Gosnell case should be treated as a warning, as the first sign of the path that all of these efforts to turn abortions into something that requires more paperwork and waiting than an IRS audit will ultimately lead to.
But it won’t, they’ll instead portray it as “proof” that they’re not being strict enough with abortion providers, that Gosnell is the rule and not the exception, and call for further restrictions on legal abortion with the ultimate goal of snookering the SCOTUS into giving them another day in court with RvW.
| 2 |
lawhawk Mon, May 13, 2013 1:11:25pm |
It’s interesting watching some twitters from the right wing, claiming that PP doesn’t agree with the verdict, even as PP says that they do.
A just verdict. The jury has rightly convicted #Gosnell for his appalling crimes, ensuring no woman is victimized by him ever again.— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) May 13, 2013
It goes hand in hand with the fact that easy access to abortion can make it safer for the women who seek out the procedures. Gosnell preyed upon a community that didn’t have affordable options, and the government failed these women as well.
The pro-lifers ignore that PP has condemned Gosnell from the outset.
| 3 |
wrenchwench Mon, May 13, 2013 1:11:54pm |
Gosnell is proof that the Hyde Amendment should never be passed again.
| 4 |
A Mom Anon Mon, May 13, 2013 1:13:09pm |
Gosnell wasn’t even an ob/gyn. He’s just a disgusting asshat who took advantage of women who lived in a poor area. I’d even go so far as to say he’s a man who has HUGE issues with women in general, in addition to being a psychopath.
| 5 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 1:13:27pm |
Anti-Choice groups say that abortion providers are only in it for the money —well, Gosnell is proof of what happens when safe, legal abortion is not available in one’s community.
| 6 |
Eclectic Cyborg Mon, May 13, 2013 1:14:30pm |
re: #5 FemNaziBitch
Anti-Choice groups say that abortion providers are only in it for the money —well, Gosnell is proof of what happens when safe, legal abortion is not available in one’s community.
Because terminating pregnancies is such a lucrative endeavor…
| 7 |
Backwoods_Sleuth Mon, May 13, 2013 1:16:25pm |
re: #4 A Mom Anon
Gosnell wasn’t even an ob/gyn. He’s just a disgusting asshat who took advantage of women who lived in a poor area. I’d even go so far as to say he’s a man who has HUGE issues with women in general, in addition to being a psychopath.
He was also a pill mill provider, that was probably his main source of income.
| 8 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 1:16:39pm |
re: #2 lawhawk
It’s interesting watching some twitters from the right wing, claiming that PP doesn’t agree with the verdict, even as PP says that they do.
It goes hand in hand with the fact that easy access to abortion can make it safer for the women who seek out the procedures. Gosnell preyed upon a community that didn’t have affordable options, and the government failed these women as well.
The pro-lifers ignore that PP has condemned Gosnell from the outset.
It’s not really ignoring. Just repeating lies because it’s easier. And I agree with what’s been said. This case is why abortion needs to be safe and legal as possible.
| 9 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 1:16:48pm |
re: #6 Eclectic Cyborg
Because terminating pregnancies is such a lucrative endeavor…
Right-wing corrupt capitalists can’t think of any other reason to DO ANYTHING other than profit.
They are providing abortions, and fighting for the right to do business in court and with protesters —it must be profitable.
| 10 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 1:17:05pm |
re: #7 Backwoods_Sleuth
He was also a pill mill provider, that was probably his main source of income.
Did Rush go to him?
| 11 |
The Mountain That Blogs Mon, May 13, 2013 1:17:14pm |
re: #6 Eclectic Cyborg
Because terminating pregnancies is such a lucrative endeavor…
It can be when you are gouging women who have nowhere else to go.
| 12 |
Bulworth Mon, May 13, 2013 1:17:39pm |
re: #2 lawhawk
PP calling it a “just verdict” means they don’t think it’s a just verdict. /
| 13 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 1:18:25pm |
re: #12 Bulworth
PP calling it a “just verdict” means they don’t think it’s a just verdict. /
False flag/ Eleventy!
| 14 |
Kragar Mon, May 13, 2013 1:25:27pm |
Kermit Gosnell is the reason affordable legal stigma free abortion needs to be made available, so women will have options rather than submit to a butcher like him.
| 15 |
allegro Mon, May 13, 2013 1:29:13pm |
There is no evil so ugly that could befall this man that I would feel even a little bit sorry.
(How was that for avoiding the ban hammer by saying what I really think of this vicious asshole?)
| 16 |
Lidane Mon, May 13, 2013 1:39:28pm |
re: #14 Kragar
Kermit Gosnell is the reason affordable legal stigma free abortion needs to be made available, so women will have options rather than submit to a butcher like him.
THIS X INFINITY.
As long as the RWNJ nutters insist on attacking abortion rights at every step, butchers like Gosnell will prey on vulnerable women. Safe, legal, affordable, unrestricted abortion would eliminate or at least greatly reduce horrors like this.
| 17 |
Kragar Mon, May 13, 2013 1:48:38pm |
To insist on anything less than the forfeiture of Gosnell’s life is to devalue the lives of the babies he murdered.— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) May 13, 2013
Death penalty for Gosnell is the pro-life sentence. Would show the value we place on human life: take one, forfeit yours.— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) May 13, 2013
| 18 |
NJDhockeyfan Mon, May 13, 2013 1:50:29pm |
‘House of Horror’ is an understatement.
Clinic workers who appeared as witnesses for the prosecution said some of the fetuses appeared to move or make noises. One, known as Baby D, was delivered into a toilet and appeared to make swimming motions before one of Dr. Gosnell’s assistants cut its neck, according to a worker cited during closing arguments by Edward Cameron, an assistant district attorney.
Mr. Cameron and another assistant district attorney, Joanne Pescatore, also told the jury, which was composed of eight women and four men, that Dr. Gosnell kept the severed feet of aborted fetuses in dozens of jars around his clinic, the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia.
According to a January 2011 grand jury report, Dr. Gosnell’s patients were covered with bloodstained blankets, treated with unsterilized instruments and surrounded by cats that were allowed to defecate in the building.
To bolster their argument that Dr. Gosnell subjected his patients to filthy and dangerous conditions, prosecutors presented the jury with a dirty procedure table and a stained ultrasound probe.
I don’t think I could have lasted as a juror listening to shit like this and looking over the pictures. I don’t think really bad felons should be put into the general population in prison but I would make an exception for this guy.
| 19 |
Backwoods_Sleuth Mon, May 13, 2013 1:51:45pm |
re: #17 Kragar
how very Old Testament of him.
How will he explain that to Laura Bush?
| 20 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 1:52:39pm |
| 23 |
Eventual Carrion Mon, May 13, 2013 1:54:52pm |
re: #17 Kragar
Death penalty for Gosnell is the pro-life sentence. Would show the value we place on human life: take one, forfeit yours.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) May 13, 2013
war is peace
slavery is freedom
killing the bastard is pro-life
| 24 |
Kragar Mon, May 13, 2013 2:02:56pm |
GOP Senator Would Bar Poor Immigrants From Earning Citizenship
Under the current bill, individuals must be regularly employed throughout the 10-year period or demonstrate that their average income was not less than 125 percent of the federal poverty line. That translates into $29,440 in household income for a family of four.
But Sessions wants to mandate that immigrants maintain an average income or resources above 400 percent of the poverty line, which means a person must on average earn more than $46,000 or $94,000 for a family of four.
| 26 |
A Mom Anon Mon, May 13, 2013 2:04:39pm |
re: #24 Kragar
So he’s what? Allergic to poor people? Jesus what a freaking ASSHOLE.
| 27 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 2:04:40pm |
re: #24 Kragar
Sessions sets such a high income bar that 70 percent of his home state or more than 3.3 million Alabamans would not meet his requirements.
Doh!
| 28 |
erik_t Mon, May 13, 2013 2:05:43pm |
| 29 |
Bulworth Mon, May 13, 2013 2:05:47pm |
| 30 |
Eclectic Cyborg Mon, May 13, 2013 2:06:16pm |
re: #27 jaunte
Doh!
Of course the unspoken end of that is that most of those people would (allegedly) be non-white.
| 31 |
Eclectic Cyborg Mon, May 13, 2013 2:07:52pm |
re: #29 Bulworth
Bring us your poor, bring us yo..
Oh wait.
It’s now:
“Bring us your whites, your Christians, your rich capitalists….”
| 32 |
NJDhockeyfan Mon, May 13, 2013 2:08:42pm |
From May 2nd…
Source: Sheriff deps call #Gosnell “Kermit.” He demands: “You will address me as Dr. Gosnell.” They say “You’re just an inmate now, Kermit.”— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 2, 2013
Heh.
| 33 |
Bulworth Mon, May 13, 2013 2:09:02pm |
re: #24 Kragar
Well, this is just because Sessions is from a wealthy state.
Oh wait…
Who the F keeps electing this guy to office?
| 34 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 2:09:20pm |
Alabama:
Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 4.0%
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011 66.8%
Black persons, percent, 2011 26.5%
| 35 |
Eclectic Cyborg Mon, May 13, 2013 2:10:01pm |
re: #33 Bulworth
Well, this is just because Sessions is from a wealthy state.
Oh wait…
Who the F keeps electing this guy to office?
Those who are afraid of Obama.
| 36 |
NJDhockeyfan Mon, May 13, 2013 2:11:35pm |
What in the world?
Justice Dept. secretly obtains AP journalists’ phone records in what AP top exec calls unprecedented intrusion: apne.ws/15GBzx9 -RJJ— The Associated Press (@AP) May 13, 2013
| 37 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 2:12:12pm |
re: #17 Kragar
Bring back the Iron Miaden. Seriously, if he’s sentenced to death, so be it, that’s the jury’s decision, I may not agree with it but sentacing Gosnell to spend the rest of his life in prison isn’t devaluing life. If Rudolf Hess, the man who was Hitler’s deputy can be sentenced to life, then we can sentence Kermit Gosnell to life. Of course, to a blood thirsty ass like Fischer, we can’t.
| 38 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 2:13:55pm |
What do you expect from a man whose full name is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. I mean that’s a name that could have been the name of a secessionist during the lead up to the Civil War or something out of a novel.
| 39 |
Decatur Deb Mon, May 13, 2013 2:15:27pm |
re: #38 HappyWarrior
What do you expect from a man whose full name is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. I mean that’s a name that could have been the name of a secessionist during the lead up to the Civil War or something out of a novel.
That’s Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, son.
| 40 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 2:16:14pm |
re: #39 Decatur Deb
That’s Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, son.
Heh I had forgotten about that part.
| 41 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 2:16:48pm |
re: #39 Decatur Deb
That’s Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, son.
No day is complete without a Foghorn Leghorn reference!
| 42 |
wrenchwench Mon, May 13, 2013 2:17:30pm |
re: #36 NJDhockeyfan
What in the world?
This:
The Justice Department has secretly obtained two months of phone records for some Associated Press reporters and editors, in what the news company said was likely due to a May 7, 2012, story on a thwarted terror plot.
The May 7, 2012 story deals with the CIA’s thwarting of an al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen’s plot to detonate an upgrade of the so-called “underwear bomb” on a U.S.-bound airliner. The attack was set to occur on the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
John Brennan, who is now the CIA Director, said in testimony in February that the release of information related to the thwarted terror plot was “unauthorized and dangerous disclosure of classified information.”
[…]
Read more: businessinsider.com
| 43 |
Vicious Babushka Mon, May 13, 2013 2:19:08pm |
NARAL releases a statement condemning Gosnell and applauding his guilty verdict. sulia.com/my_thoughts/e2…— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) May 13, 2013
| 44 |
Vicious Babushka Mon, May 13, 2013 2:19:24pm |
A just verdict. The jury has rightly convicted #Gosnell for his appalling crimes, ensuring no woman is victimized by him ever again.— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) May 13, 2013
| 45 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 2:19:32pm |
re: #41 FemNaziBitch
No day is complete without a Foghorn Leghorn reference!
I wish I could be more artistic because then I’d drawn Foghorn Leghorn in a searsucker suit with a mint julip.
| 46 |
Vicious Babushka Mon, May 13, 2013 2:20:01pm |
Physicians for Reproductive Health releases a statement condemning Gosnell and celebrating his guilty verdict.sulia.com/my_thoughts/2c…— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) May 13, 2013
| 47 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 2:20:13pm |
re: #45 HappyWarrior
I wish I could be more artistic because then I’d drawn Foghorn Leghorn in a searsucker suit with a mint julip.
white patent leather loafers?
| 48 |
HappyWarrior Mon, May 13, 2013 2:20:30pm |
| 49 |
Vicious Babushka Mon, May 13, 2013 2:20:53pm |
Finally, good news: Kermit Gosnell has been convicted of murder. theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/…— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) May 13, 2013
| 50 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 2:21:17pm |
My only hope out of all this is that Whackos don’t use this conviction to prosecute physicians legitimately providing abortions. They are few and far between.
| 51 |
Vicious Babushka Mon, May 13, 2013 2:21:37pm |
And DERP:
So now we know: @amandamarcotte is pro-choice unless abortionist gets caught committing first-degree murder twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte… #Gosnell— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) May 13, 2013
| 52 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 2:23:08pm |
re: #50 FemNaziBitch
My only hope out of all this is that Whackos don’t use this conviction to prosecute physicians legitimately providing abortions. They are few and far between.
We have to read the fine writing on the verdict.
| 53 |
erik_t Mon, May 13, 2013 2:24:02pm |
| 54 |
thedopefishlives Mon, May 13, 2013 2:25:30pm |
re: #53 erik_t
And thus the slippery slope argument advanced by the rabid right-wingers is vindicated.///
Evening Lizardim.
| 55 |
FemNaziBitch Mon, May 13, 2013 2:25:33pm |
| 57 |
erik_t Mon, May 13, 2013 2:27:19pm |
re: #55 FemNaziBitch
#12?
#13, I think…? I dunno, there have been three or four in the last week. It’s been crazy.
| 58 |
thedopefishlives Mon, May 13, 2013 2:28:22pm |
re: #57 erik_t
#13, I think…? I dunno, there have been three or four in the last week. It’s been crazy.
Sorry we took so long. At least the derp isn’t as strong here as it is in other places.
| 59 |
Lidane Mon, May 13, 2013 2:31:16pm |
| 60 |
erik_t Mon, May 13, 2013 2:31:21pm |
re: #58 thedopefishlives
Sorry we took so long. At least the derp isn’t as strong here as it is in other places.
Y’all sure had a fast turnaround from last November. Six months from ‘oh god another Constitutional turdbucket’ to ‘HAHAHAHA DEAL WITH IT, MICHELLE’.
| 61 |
thedopefishlives Mon, May 13, 2013 2:33:26pm |
re: #60 erik_t
Y’all sure had a fast turnaround from last November. Six months from ‘oh god another Constitutional turdbucket’ to ‘HAHAHAHA DEAL WITH IT, MICHELLE’.
Hence my previous comment about the slippery slope. The wingnuts were weeping at the time,
BUT IF YOU REFUSE TO PASS THIS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THEN TEH GHEY WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME LEGAL IT IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE.
Oh, how right they were.
| 62 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 2:37:01pm |
Women In Their 40s Make Breitbart’s Ben Shapiro So Sad In His Pants zite.to/17mHebj #p2
— Joan (@LibertyBelleJ) May 13, 2013
| 63 |
Kid A Mon, May 13, 2013 2:39:39pm |
Planned Parenthood Ignores Babies Born Alive Murdered by Gosnell: On Monday afternoon, the jury in the trial o… bit.ly/19kxhrz— Big Government (@biggovt) May 13, 2013
| 64 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 2:45:39pm |
Irin Carmon:
“…What this case is not is a referendum on all abortion, a conflation the political strategy around the case has attempted. Gosnell has been convicted of murder because women gave birth to live, viable (or arguably viable) babies that were then murdered. The anti-abortion movement has argued that this is the same as abortion, and the difference is inches inside or outside “the womb,” a word that erases the woman bearing it altogether. But such difficult calculations only apply to around 1 percent of all abortions, since 98.7 percent of abortions are conducted before 21 weeks, itself a few weeks before viability. Forty-one states ban abortion after viability except in the direst cases, and most lack a provider to perform one.”
salon.com
| 65 |
NJDhockeyfan Mon, May 13, 2013 2:45:51pm |
BREAKING: IRS says current acting commissioner learned in May 2012 that tea party groups were targeted -RJJ— The Associated Press (@AP) May 13, 2013
| 66 |
A Mom Anon Mon, May 13, 2013 2:45:53pm |
re: #63 Kid A
Well except for the counts he was found guilty on. But other than that….
| 67 |
Amory Blaine Mon, May 13, 2013 2:47:35pm |
Taking the wife to see Gatsby. Fitzgerald is a fave of mine (see my nickname). WOOT!!
| 68 |
thedopefishlives Mon, May 13, 2013 2:48:31pm |
re: #65 NJDhockeyfan
So this is what my wingnut FB friends have been talking about with regard to “the President using the IRS to go after his political enemies.” How lame.
| 69 |
makeitstop Mon, May 13, 2013 2:51:49pm |
A Rightie friend on Facebook just posted that ‘UN tanks are being mobilized in Maine.’
Anybody wanna throw me a clue on this? He seems pretty upset about it, and I’m in the mood to mock.
| 71 |
A Mom Anon Mon, May 13, 2013 2:55:32pm |
re: #65 NJDhockeyfan
OK, here’s the thing about this that’s not being mentioned. A 501c (4) is supposed to be a designation for groups that do stuff that serves their community, like say raising money for benches and tables to put in the local dog park, or money to buy books for the school library, that kind of stuff. Community/Social action.
When this all started the IRS saw an uptick in Tea Party/Patriot groups who are political in nature, not raising money for their communities. Now, if they were putting that money into the local animal shelter or what have you, that’s one thing, but they were using that tax exempt status to raise money for politics. That’s what the scrutiny is about. The number of groups were more than double the usual entries for that status, so they should have been looked at, it’s kinda what the IRS is supposed to do.
And I say this as someone who was part of starting a 501c(4) for the local dog park. I’m also looking into starting one on my own to help fund a vocational rehab center for young adults with autism spectrum disorders. The rules are pretty strict, if you don’t follow them bring the IRS can bring the hammer down hard if you get caught.
| 73 |
jaunte Mon, May 13, 2013 2:56:30pm |
re: #69 makeitstop
Here’s the same story from July, 2012:
“Under cover of ‘training exercises’, U.S. Military troops have been witnessed and videotaped moving into many US cities including St. Louise, Missouri, Miami, Florida, Denver Colorado, Crookstan, Minnesota, and Bangor, Maine, often conducting ‘residential’ training exercises in preparation for the mass arrests of the members of the criminal cabal. (It is interesting to note that Maine possesses no military bases whatsoever, but what Maine does boast is the palatial family compound of the Bush family.)
| 75 |
lawhawk Mon, May 13, 2013 3:22:21pm |
re: #7 Backwoods_Sleuth
He was also a pill mill provider, that was probably his main source of income.
It was the investigation in to his acting as a pill mill provider that opened the door on the house of horrors where he carried out illegal late term abortions and murdered one of the women who came to his office for care.
Until the point that investigators entered his office, they hadn’t know what he had been up to. Women died at his hands and the investigators hadn’t lifted a finger. Women were getting abortions in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. He did illegal late term abortions. The state failed to check on him until they came calling on the pill mill investigation.
| 76 |
Backwoods_Sleuth Mon, May 13, 2013 3:33:35pm |
re: #69 makeitstop
A Rightie friend on Facebook just posted that ‘UN tanks are being mobilized in Maine.’
Anybody wanna throw me a clue on this? He seems pretty upset about it, and I’m in the mood to mock.
google “Maine UN tanks”
The nutjob websites have been going nutzo about it the last few hours.
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