Get up to speed on the Kermit Gosnell trial
The jurors have been selected for the trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Pro-life potential jurors were dismissed out of fear that they would a) convict no matter what, and/or b) in the event of a conviction, refuse to vote for the death penalty.
The dismissal of pro-life jurors doesn’t trouble me too much. If anything, I think that supporters of “choice” will feel compelled to take this case very seriously, lest they be perceived as letting Gosnell off too easily. You certainly do not need to be anti-abortion to be horrified by the evidence in this case.
Gosnell is standing trial for eight counts of murder. Seven of the deceased are infants who were born alive before Gosnell allegedly cut their spinal cords. One is an adult woman who received an abortion from Gosnell and died in the process. He is also charged with “conspiracy, drug delivery resulting in death, infanticide, corruption of minors, evidence tampering, theft by deception, abuse of corpse, and corruption.”
The story of Gosnell’s “house of horrors” abortion mill broke over two years ago. If you need a refresher, watch the excellent documentary 3801 Lancaster, embedded below. Warning: graphic and disturbing content.
very funny SPL! The notion of pro-lifers that actually oppose the death penalty! Next you're going to tell me that Pro-lifers don't support the right of teachers to carry handguns in school, don't oppose federal mandates for contraception coverage in health insurance plans, and don't oppose marriage rights for gay Americans.
I am a secular pro-life person who does, in fact, oppose the death penalty, opposes having more guns in schools, supports the availability of contraception through insurance and through schools and clinics, and I support marriage equality for LGBTQ people. I also oppose war, including done strikes against children, civilians, and US citizens.
It's about honoring life, for me, To honor life, I must hold all of these positions.
With stereotypes like that, understanding between people in this world is going places.
And psst … I'm a anti-death penalty pro-lifer.
As am I. SPL blog troll doesn't ever let truth get in the way of his stereotypes.
http://blog.secularprolife.org/2012/01/abortion-and-death-penalty.html
Because of this story, many are responding along the lines of "THIS is why we need to keep abortion safe and legal; because this is what happens when women don't have access to safe abortions".
Now, I'm about as pro-life as they get. To me, the argument is invalid simply because of the humanity of the unborn. However, that just doesn't cut it with people who believe the biologically living, human fetus does not deserve protection. So what would you say to them? These women did not have access to safe abortion, and this appears to be the result – maltreatment and death of the patients (victims, really). For the moment we are putting aside the deaths of the born children, because the pro-choicers I'm citing agree that he should be charged with their murders. But just looking at the deplorable facilities, the inexperienced employees, and the physical injuries suffered by the women – how do you refute the "women are going to get abortions anyway, so let's keep them safe and legal" argument?
Thanks!
The lesson we should take from abortionist like Gosnell, Carhart, Brigham, Alexander (and on and on and on…) is that the "pro-choice" movement has failed to deliver on its promise. They said that making abortion legal would make it safe. It didn't, and every step of the way pro-abortion politicians have hindered the effort to impose actual medical standards on these butchers. Roe v. Wade did not make abortion safe; it only made abortion more common, and millions of people (the unborn victims, mothers, fathers, siblings…) have suffered as a result.
Great response.
"…and every step of the way pro-abortion politicians have hindered the effort to impose actual medical standards on these butchers."
Perfectly said. Thank you!
Well, not everyone who is a proliferation is a republican. Besides, I am a SECULAR pro lifer who puts stock in science and not idiotic magical thinking.
I think enough people think they are supposed to believe in pro choice if they're liberal/Democrats and pro-life if they're conservative/Republican.there seems to be no room for grey areas … It become stop nuanced for many.
While people vehemently argue over when life begins and who controls a women's body we've allowed for the horrifying and sickening late term abortions like these to go on and haven't even bothered to cover it because the reality is inconvenient.
I've been in a NICU for longer than I cared to be with my daughter. I have NO doubt that a 23 week old is a PERSON who feels and needs and deserves to be loved and protected by our laws as a PERSON. We need to focus WAY more on helping women with preventing unwanted pregnancies and supporting them in ways that don't ever require the murder of children. It's murder pure and simple. MURDER. Unless the pregnancy truly threatens the life of the mother, I cannot morally even begin to try to defend the practice of abortion … And even then it would need on a case by case basis!
I think enough people think they are supposed to believe in pro choice if they're liberal/Democrats and pro-life if they're conservative/Republican–there seems to be no room for grey areas … It becomes too nuanced for many.
While people vehemently argue over when life begins and who controls a women's body we've allowed for the horrifying and sickening late term abortions like these to go on and haven't even bothered to cover it because the reality is inconvenient.
I've been in a NICU for longer than I cared to be with my daughter. I have NO doubt that a 23 week old is a PERSON who feels and needs and deserves to be loved and protected by our laws as a PERSON. We need to focus WAY more on helping women with preventing unwanted pregnancies and supporting them in ways that don't ever require the murder of children. It's murder pure and simple. MURDER. Unless the pregnancy truly threatens the life of the mother, I cannot morally even begin to try to defend the practice of abortion … And even then it would need on a case by case basis!
Although there are plenty of pro-lifers who oppose abortion and support the death penalty, it is significant to note that there are plenty of pro-life Democrats who neither support abortion nor the death penalty and especially that the Catholic church considers the term "pro-life" to mean supportive of all right to life, meaning that to the Catholic mind, anyone who is truly pro-life is against the death penalty.