What The "Gosnell" Case Can Teach Pro-Life Advocates

Just this morning before I headed in to work for the day I was able to finish reading the Gosnell book that I had been given by a friend who works at a local Pregnancy Resource Center. I was able to finish it within a few days, although I do read fairly quickly as it is. Overall, this was the most disturbing story I have ever read about, and I have to say, it is extremely disheartening to consider that this entire ordeal came to light in a modern American city within just the last few years.

The story of Kermit Gosnell really needs to be looked at by pro-life advocates, in terms of what the reality of abortion is, how far some are willing to go in order to defend abortion "rights", and the monstrosity of the act of abortion on a living, though immature, human being. The story, as I will explain below, also sheds light on the strategy of using graphic images of abortion to reach hearts and minds that may never otherwise consider the issue in light of what happens to an unborn human being during abortion.

The story was written by two Irish journalists who detail the way the Philadelphia Police Department stumbled upon the crimes against humanity that were going on inside the abortion clinic known as the "Women's Health Society". They discovered that numerous women had been injured during botched procedures, infected sexually through the use of contaminated medical instruments, exposed to conditions in the clinic that seemed more appropriate to a Middle Ages medicine practice than to a twenty-first century women's health center, and even killed during botched procedures.

Even more ghastly than all of this was the way in which Gosnell treated the babies of women whose abortion procedures accidentally resulted in the baby being born. Gosnell would, in many instances "snip" the spinal cords of babies who had managed to survive the procedures.

Gosnell's practice was exposed to the public through the work of the Philadelphia PD, and other law enforcement agencies, and he was charged with multiple crimes, including infanticide and homicide.

The jury was, as the authors noted, comprised mainly of men and women who considered themselves "pro-choice" on abortion, and two who had considered themselves neither pro-choice or pro-life on the issue. As the trial commenced and continued over the course of the weeks, there was a change among many, if not all, of the jurors on their stance towards abortion.

The reason this changed is that the jury was exposed to the reality of abortion. It is quite easy to refer to oneself as pro-"choice" or "Women's rights". It can be quite another to know what those choices or rights will really entail. During the expert testimony of the Gosnell case, an expert witness from a local medical center was brought in to testify as to the procedures of abortion themselves, in order to determine for the jury whether or not Gosnell had killed the babies in his clinic "legally".

As the authors note, one of the instances in which the defense attorney for Kermit Gosnell, Jack McMahon, attempted to argue that Gosnell had killed the babies legally involved McMahon asking an abortionist, who was an expert witness in the case, to walk him through the steps of a legal abortion procedure. This, in turn, sickened the members of the jury, who were beginning to question their pro-choice views.

The prosecution also proceeded to display the images that were taken by investigators during the raid on Gosnell's clinic. The images showed the bodily remains of human fetuses scattered around in various containers, kitty litter boxes, milk jugs, and even toilets.

The images shown and the details of what happened to babies during both illegal and legal abortions brings up a point worth considering: Abortion is a horrifying, dehumanizing act of violence against an innocent human being. This case wasn't made to the jury by pro-life advocates. This was made by a judge and prosecution who were working to convict Kermit Gosnell while still defending abortion rights in public. The main point should not be missed: Abortion protests itself when it is shown honestly. Pro-life advocates, and those who consider themselves pro-life on the issue of abortion would do well to learn from the Gosnell case, in that being honest about what abortion is does a lot to persuade a public that has never considered the implications of being "pro-choice".

Provided, honesty about abortion should always be coupled with compassion towards those who are deeply wounded by the issue. When truth and compassion go hand in hand, hearts can be reached, and lives can be saved. The culture at large needs to be informed of just what abortion does to an unborn human being, and as the Gosnell case shows, images can be the most effective way of doing this.

The Gosnell book is one that everyone should pick up and read in order to understand just what consequences can result from bad ideas, and in order to understand the role that advocates for the life of innocent human beings must take so as to reach a culture that has attempted to move on from abortion without asking first, "Who stands to lose if we don't do anything about abortion?" The answer is obvious to anyone willing to ask.