***Graphic***

Dr. Kermit Gosnell – have you heard of him? If you haven’t, I wouldn’t be surprised. There’s been a virtual blackout regarding Gosnell’s murder trial and horrifying “business” practices. That said, you most certainly should be hearing his name incessantly given the case against him.

Although news has been trickling through as of late, the perfect story for an all-out media blitz has been left by the wayside. There are many questions swirling around in regards to why the media has ignored the subject.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell ran a shady abortion clinic, in a rundown section of Philadelphia, known as Women’s Medical Society. What went on in the clinic was anything but acceptable, under any circumstances. It is outrageous to think that despite numerous inspections and brushes with medical disaster, the facility operated for years.

Gosnell was responsible for numerous late-term abortions, with many running well over the 20-week maximum set by Pennsylvania state law. Regardless of your stance on the issue of abortion, this isn’t even the offensive part. In many cases, the baby would actually be born, or labor would be induced in order for birth to occur. At this point, Dr. Gosnell would insert a pair of scissors into the live baby’s neck and then cut the spinal cord.

This alone would seem enough to brand Gosnell a monster, but sadly it seems only the tip of the iceberg. The feet of aborted fetuses and babies were kept in jars as memories, equipment was never sterilized, drugs were used copiously and without proper training, and some patients were so severely injured by Gosnell’s procedures that one even died.

So just where is the media on this? Many suspect that there is a general fear by the media that the issue is too anti-abortion for their own comfort zone. This appears potentially plausible, but the story has even been absent from right-wing media. Regardless, the issue is well beyond the moral implications of abortion.

The issue at hand is that there are potentially hundreds of cases of murder against Dr. Gosnell, but a great deal of evidence has been destroyed and even illegally disposed of. So how did it get to this point?

What allowed this to happen?

Documents show that numerous complaints have been filed, inspections failed, and cases ignored outright. And yet, it took years for Dr. Gosnell’s insidious operation to be shut down and have him brought up on charges. There appears to be a complete lack of regard for safety, laws, and human life, all in the name of laziness and politics.

In an attempt to stave off pro-choice political attacks, inspectors often let deplorable operating conditions slide and eventually ceased inspecting all Philadelphia abortion clinics entirely. The safety and lives of thousands of women and newborn children were put in harm’s way because it was politically expedient to simply not find faults in abortion clinic procedures. This leaves me stunned that there was zero accountability to be had for any party involved.

In addition, reports and complaints were filed but never followed up on or acted upon due to a disregard for the safety of anyone seeking Dr. Gosnell’s treatment. It is unthinkable that anyone – especially in the case of one woman who was killed with too much anesthesia – could let a case slide and expect it will sort itself out.

It is time for people to face their jobs and complete them. Suspicious and dangerous operations need to be alerted to the public, and this also requires the cooperation of the media. Let us not forget that sick individuals like Dr. Kermit Gosnell are out there, and they must be exposed.