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The long-awaited trial of West Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell began Monday. Gosnell is on trial on seven counts of 1st degree murder for alleging aborting viable unborn babies alive and then killing them by “sticking scissors into the back of the baby’s neck and cutting the spinal cord”; and one count of 3rd degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar. The following is excerpted from the Grand Jury report that led to Gosnell’s indictment.

NRL News Today runs these excerpts because no matter what we write about as the trial proceeds, it cannot do justice to the injustice and inhumanity Gosnell is accused of perpetrating on defenseless unborn babies and their desperate mothers. Today’s excerpt is about Gosnell’s decision to maximize his profits (he made millions, according to prosecutors) by hiring unqualified workers, placing women’s health at great peril. Gosnell himself was unqualified: he is neither an obstetrician or gynecologist, let alone a board-certified one.

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Gosnell staffed his abortion clinic with unlicensed and unqualified workers.

Gosnell deliberately hired unqualified staff because he could pay them low wages, often in cash. Most of Gosnell’s employees who worked with patients had little or no remotely relevant training or education. Nor did they have any certifications or licenses to treat patients. Yet they did so regularly, and without supervision – in violation of Pennsylvania’s medical practice standards and the law.

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Tina Baldwin testified that certification did not matter to Gosnell. He told his workers that there was a “grandfather clause where if you – since he’s a doctor and he taught you, you could be automatically whatever it is he taught you to be. You could be certified because he taught you to do that.”

Gosnell had several employees who lasted just a short time at his clinic, but the following were his principal employees after 2000:  [A list follows]…

Kermit Gosnell himself was not qualified. Under Pennsylvania law, an abortion facility must have at least one doctor certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, either on staff or as a consultant. Gosnell, the only licensed physician associated with the Womens’ Medical Society, is not an obstetrician or gynecologist, much less a board-certified one. In fact, 40 years ago, he started but failed to complete a residency in obstetrics and gynecology.

Just as his clinic bore no resemblance to a bona fide medical facility, the image of himself that Gosnell promoted had no truth to it. In newspaper and television interviews, he portrayed himself as a hard-working, conscientious doctor doing the best he could for his community. In fact, he left his clinic and his patients untended all day while he was at home, relaxing or exercising. Any contributions he may have made to the community are undermined by the substandard treatment that he passed off as medical care for the indigent.

Gosnell routinely cracked jokes about babies whose necks he had just slit. He treated his patients with condescension – slapping them, providing abysmal care, and often refusing even to see or talk to them – unless they were Caucasian, or had money. He yelled at and intimidated his staff. And he took advantage of poor women in desperate situations.

Reprinted with permission from National Right to Life News.