Hi there,

I really felt quite shaken after reading
the recent report of a Philadelphia Grand Jury. This outlined the case for
prosecuting one Dr Kermit Gosnell, who ran an abortion mill (for want of a
better term) only a few minutes walk away from one of America’s finest
hospitals.

It was a filthy clinic which ignored all
the statutory safeguards on paperwork, staffing, cleanliness, informed consent,
patient privacy… you name it. It’s the kind of thing you think might exist in a
third-world slum where draconian laws ban all abortions. But it happened in Pennsylvania,
where abortion is legal up to 24 weeks. Gosnell has been charged with murder
and infanticide, along with a long list of other offenses.

Worse still, the people who were supposed
to regulate the clinic never visited it and ignored complaints for decades. Their
criminal irresponsibility is the more interesting dimension of this ghastly
business. Why were they so negligent? If they had stirred themselves, at least
two young women would be alive today – and many babies. Any ideas?

Cheers,
Michael Cook
Editor

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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