*Please note that this journal contains information about abortion and the subject may be sensitive for some. This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a rare treat: a trip to the movie theater. It has been several years since we’ve gone to the cinema and several weeks since we had a date sans our loving, rambunctious toddler. While we were excited to spend time together, we both had trepidations about our movie selection. We had decided to see Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer. If you have not heard about the movie, don’t feel badly. It is a film that the mainstream media has largely (if not completely) ignored. Gosnell is about “the shocking true story of the investigation and trial of [abortionist] Dr. Kermit Gosnell - his 30 year killing spree and the political and media establishment that tried to cover it up.” GosnellMovie.com Everyone should see this movie and regardless if you are pro-life or pro-choice, you should do so with an open mind. Why? Not just because it is an excellent film and deserves as much recognition as possible. But, because while the events that the film details are chilling and the nature of the violent crimes that Gosnell committed are horrific, the children and women that were his victims deserve to have their story told. The film powerfully details the atrocities committed by Gosnell without gore or any overly graphic or sensational scenes. Also, as George Santayana once said: “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and Winston Churchill quoted Santayana and stated: “those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Now, I am saying it: we need to ensure that something like this never, ever, ever happens again. Background on Gosnell Since 1979, Kermit Gosnell ran an abortion clinic called the Women's Medical Society in West Philadelphia. Within that clinic, Gosnell, who was not a licensed obstetrician or gynecologist, committed various, illegal and horrific acts until 2010 and was arrested in 2011. In 2013, Gosnell was convicted of murdering three infants who were born alive during attempted abortion procedures and one woman during an abortion procedure. He murdered many, many more babies and perhaps even more women for three decades. Not only that but, "the medical practice by which [Gosnell] carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels - and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths." * So why didn’t any patient, employee or anyone else try to stop him? They tried. Even the National Abortion Federation (NAF) deemed Gosnell’s clinic as “the worst abortion clinic she had ever inspected” but “never told anyone in authority about all the horrible, dangerous things she had seen.” * In fact, according to the grand jury, The Pennsylvania Department of Health has records as far back as the 1980s documenting Gosnell’s dangerous practices. “Several oversight agencies stumbled upon and should have shut down Kermit Gosnell long ago. But none of them did.” * Wait, what?! So how was this monster finally stopped? It wasn’t until 2010 that Gosnell was “originally investigated for illegal prescription drug sales.”* As the film details, a raid by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and local Pennsylvania law enforcement revealed crimes they could not have expected within the [abortion] clinic.”* The reason no one came forward to charge Gosnell before the illegal prescription drug sale investigation and subsequent raid is that no one was willing to be viewed as interfering with a “women’s reproductive rights.” In my opinion and that of others, even though many agencies knew about the various illegal practices within the abortion clinic, no one said anything because it was not “politically correct.” So instead, the very laws and agencies that are established to protect women and babies turned their heads and allowed this monster to continue these crimes. While I am proudly pro-life and long for the day when no child is aborted and all children can be treasured and valued as the miracle and blessings that they are so that they can live life to their fullest potential, if I saw this movie 10 years ago, when I was proudly pro-choice, I can’t say that I would continue to be so. Every person who vows to be pro-life should see this movie. I also challenge every pro-choice advocate to see this movie and I also suggest those who pledge themselves to be Switzerland, or neutral, as neither pro-life nor pro-choice, to watch the film. You should see this movie even if it makes you uncomfortable and even if it pops the bubble you’ve cocooned yourself inside of never thinking about abortion. Yes, abortion is a hot topic, and controversial, but there is a reason for that. Slavery and the Jim Crow laws were controversial. “An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus (aka baby) and placenta from the uterus.”* Controversial? Yes. Should we pretend it does not exist? No. History Can Repeat Itself As I watched this film, while 18 weeks pregnant, I asked myself: could this or something like this be happening at other abortion clinics in the world? In the United States? In Rhode Island? Before you shake your head and say “no, you’re just a hormonal, pregnant woman; there is no way,” remember that Gosnell was finally shut down only in 2010, which is less than 10 years ago. The truth is that it could very well be happening elsewhere. The truth is that since 2017, Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinics in Pennsylvania have failed 14 health inspections.* The truth is that in 2018, Planned Parenthood sued the State of Indiana for its new law requiring annual inspections of abortion clinics. * The truth is that many perceive abortion to be a “controversial, hot topic” and want to avoid it as much as possible. Let’s remember that is the very reason that Gosnell was able to carry on his horrific crimes for three decades. Will citizens of the United States allow so-called “women’s rights to choose” or “women’s reproductive rights” to overshadow both a mother’s and child’s right to life? Have you seen the Gosnell film? Please share your thoughts on the movie with us on Facebook! Don't forget to click "like" and share our page! As always, thank you for reading. God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always! Find a theater near you: gosnellmovie.com/theaters Sources:
“Gosnell | The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer.” Gosnell | The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer, www.gosnellmovie.com/. Friedersdorf, Conor. “Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 July 2013, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/why-dr-kermit-gosnells-trial-should-be-a-front-page-story/274944/. “Abortion | Medical Abortion.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 6 Mar. 2018, medlineplus.gov/abortion.html. “Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinics Have Failed 14 Pennsylvania Health Inspections Since 2017.” LifeNews.com, 7 June 2018, www.lifenews.com/2018/06/05/planned-parenthood-abortion-clinics-have-failed-14-pennsylvania-health-inspections-since-2017/. Caralle, Katelyn. “Planned Parenthood Sues Indiana over Law Requiring Annual Inspections of Abortion Clinics.” Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2018, www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/planned-parenthood-sues-indiana-over-law-requiring-annual-inspections-of-abortion-clinics.
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