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FIRST-PERSON: Gosnell’s grisly anniversary

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DALLAS (BP) — At the one-year anniversary of the murder conviction of late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell in mid-May, several pro-life organizations used the moment to press forward in behalf of defenseless infants.

Dr. Gosnell was found guilty of killing babies that were still alive after botched abortions and was convicted of 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion. He is serving three life sentences in state prison. Some of his former employees also are doing time.

Grisly as this episode was — and as much as we’d like not to think about it — pro-lifers are doing their best not to let it slip from American consciousness.

The Gosnell case helped paint a picture worth a thousand words for protecting women. The filthy and otherwise disgusting conditions in his Philadelphia clinic have helped push forward laws in several states requiring abortion facilities to meet certain safety standards and mandating that abortionists have admitting privileges at local hospitals.

The atrocities uncovered at that horrible clinic also tell another story: As Arina Grossu, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, succinctly noted at a news conference on the one-year anniversary of Gosnell’s conviction, “The babies that Gosnell brutally killed felt pain.”

Grossu was referring not just to the little ones who didn’t die when they were supposed to in a botched abortion, but also the ones who did die — while still in the womb.

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Sen. Lindsay Graham has introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill prohibits the abortion of unborn babies after 20 weeks gestation, or five months, due to the excruciating pain they feel as the procedure takes lives. Mothers considering abortion need to be informed, and strongly reminded of that fact, as they are making their “choice.”

The House passed a similar measure a year ago and several states have enacted their own laws that cut off abortions at five months. The Senate bill has 40 co-sponsors, but Majority Leader Harry Reid has refused to allow the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to come to the floor for a vote. He’s protecting pro-choice senators from having to explain their position on this in an election year.

He’s right to worry. According to an NBC poll, one in five people who say they favor abortion rights favor these “pain capable” laws.

While a growing body of research tells us that unborn babies feel pain at 20 weeks, if not earlier, medical textbooks and professional anesthesiologists generally agree that anesthesia and analgesia are warranted for fetal surgical procedures.

America is one of several countries that permit abortion on demand after 20 weeks gestation. Joining us in this category are China and North Korea, not exactly known as champions of human rights. This is inexcusable. We have the science to ban these late-term abortions.
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Penna Dexter is a regular panelist and frequent guest host of Point of View, a nationally syndicated issues-oriented talk radio program. Her weekly radio commentaries air on the Moody Broadcasting Network and Bott Radio Network.