The “house of horrors” abortion doctor’s trial is set to begin today with jury selection. Dr. Kermit Gosnell is being charged with eight counts of murder for the death of one mother and seven babies that were reportedly born alive and then killed.
Gosnell, age 72, contends that he was providing much needed services to low-income women with little or no health insurance. The majority of the services he provided, including late-term abortions , were to those who could not receive medical attention elsewhere.
As reported by Daily Times , the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania clinic, the Women’s Medical Society, was in operation for nearly 40 years. The clinic gained worldwide attention following the death of a patient in 2009. Karnamaya Monger, age 41, allegedly lost her life due to an overdoes of pain medication and sedatives administered by staff at the clinic.
Authorities investigating the woman’s death were stunned when they entered Gosnell’s clinic to find what has been described as a “house of horrors.” The abortion doctor faces murder charges for the evidence and testimony received as a result of the investigation.
A total of eight staff, many unlicensed, were arrested and have plead guilt to charges stemming from the investigation. One of the unlicensed “doctors” has been accused of killing at least 100 babies that were apparently born alive. According to reports, Steven Massof assisted Gosnell during the abortions, using a pair of scissors to sever the spinal cords of the babies upon birth.
Seth Williams, Philadelphia District Attorney spoke to CNN about the murder charges against the abortion doctor:
“A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.”
“It was a house of horrors beyond any type of definition or explanation I can humbly try to give,”
Authorities describe a macabre scene when they entered the clinic, noting piles of hazardous material bags full of aborted fetuses. Jars containing severed limbs and other various organs and intact fetuses were lined up on shelves throughout the clinic.
Additionally, conditions were unsanitary as medical equipment was covered in dust and stained with blood. District Attorney Williams pointed out that authorities on the scene discovered a recently born baby on a table with a severed spine, calling it unquestionable “murder.”
Gosnell’s attorney, Jack McMahon, is confident that his client was simply providing the struggling community with much-needed medical services. He has stated that he does not expect his client to be sentenced to death due to his age.
Jury selection will begin today in the murder trial of the “house of horrors” abortion doctor. The state will be seeking the death penalty for Gosnell on eight counts of murder.
