“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” This quote, attributed to Irish statesman Edmund Burke, comes to mind as I consider the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s “house of horrors” in Philadelphia where late-term babies were born alive and then killed by being stabbed in the neck with scissors. According to the grand jury report (.pdf) on this case, “Over the years, there were hundreds of ‘snippings'”, the term Gosnell used for the practice of cutting a baby’s spinal cord to “ensure fetal demise.” Gosnell’s employees, none of whom were doctors, are believed to have routinely killed babies in this manner, as well.
Everyone there acted as if it wasn’t murder at all.
Unfortunately, over those same years, far too many people in Philadelphia did nothing to stop it. We only learned about this “house of horrors” recently because good people finally “did something”.
Though the grand jury said that “hundreds” of late-term babies were murdered by this method, prosecutors are seeking conviction in the deaths of seven babies and of one woman who died as a result of overdose. The latest news in this case is that one of Gosnell’s employees has admitted to being directly responsible for one of the murders having entered a guilty plea.
Two abortion clinic workers pleaded guilty Thursday to third-degree murder in deaths that occurred at a Philadelphia clinic where seven babies were allegedly born alive, then killed with scissors, and a patient died from an overdose of painkillers.
Andrea Moton, 34, admitted her involvement in the stabbing death of one late-term baby that she pulled from a toilet where it had been delivered.
Abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell
There is a certain relief in learning that in at least two deaths, the death of a child and the death of a mother, there has been an admission of guilt in a court of law by two who were involved. Still, “hundreds” reportedly died in this clinic, and there is only the hope of conviction in regard to the deaths of six more babies. Further, considering the indifference demonstrated by so many people who knew of Gosnell’s practice, and by the indifference we have seen play out in our national political discourse, we can only wonder how many other Kermit Gosnells there are in America’s abortion industry.
CBS News reported that Gosnell had been in the abortion business for 30 years and that state regulators had completely ignored complaints against him at least since 1993, but they are not being charged in the case. “Good people” continue to “do nothing” in America. Even as Gosnell and his staff were murdering these children, many millions of Americans elected a president who had actively opposed the Illinois version of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, a measure that would define as a “person” any child born alive, even as a result of a failed abortion. The legal status of “personhood” would require that medical care be given to these children. Barack Obama had said no, but America still said yes to Barack Obama.
If so few are willing to take issue with a presidential candidate for having opposed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, how many more Kermit Gosnells might there be in America? Until “good men” will stand up and “do something”, we may never come to know.
