AUL Calls Gosnell Murder Conviction "a triumph of justice over the reality of infanticide -- the logical conclusion of the abortion worldview"

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The self-interested indifference of an unrepentant, unregulated, and unmonitored abortion industry stood front and center among the tragic events that led to the conviction of Kermit Gosnell," said Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. "The legacy of Gosnell's trial will be Big Abortion's collusion in bringing about America's 'red-light district of medicine" – today's back-alley abortion clinics and renegade abortion profiteers. Consistently pro-life Americans must fight Big Abortion as they attempt to block commonsense attempts to regulate and monitor abortion clinics where we know that some women and girls have suffered and even died. I applaud the vedict and thank all those who worked so hard to bring Gosnell to justice. We must now protect women and infants from an abortion industry that steadfastly refuses to police itself. How many women, girls, and infants must die before the abortion industry is held accountable?"

"Both the National Abortion Federation and local Planned Parenthood knew of Gosnell's grisly business, but they stayed silent. Meanwhile, Gosnell's clinic went almost two decades without inspection as women and girls were victimize and subjected to dangerous and inhumane conditions," noted Dr. Yoest. "This case underscores why abortion clinics must be subjected to medically appropriate standards and regular inspections. And Kermit Gosnell is not the aberration that abortion advocates claim.  Over the last three years, at least 15 states have initiated investigations into the conditions and practices of abortion clinics.  These investigations were triggered by women's deaths, reports of dangerous and unsanitary practices that exposed women to injuries and infections, and infants born alive following attempted abortions.

"How many more must die? Karnamaya Mongar died following her abortion in Gosnell's clinic.  We have also mourned the loss of Jennifer Morbelli, Lou Anne Herron,  Tonya Reaves, and many others at the hands of Big Abortion.  We promise to remember their names and to fight to protect future generations."

"The abortion industry claims we need more 'access' to abortion – even as it is legal through all nine months of pregnancy today," noted Dr. Yoest. "They consistently equate mere access to abortion with women's healthcare.  But consider what we learned from the Gosnell trial, about the kind of 'care' provided by Big Abortion."

The details of Gosnell's 258 charges:

• Four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of born-alive infants.  (He originally faced 7 counts, but 3 were dismissed at trial)
• One count of third-degree murder in the 2009 death of patient Karnamaya Mongar, a mother of four who had survived 20 years in a refugee camp in Bhutan before fleeing to the U.S.
• 24 counts of violating Pennsylvania's Abortion Act by performing illegal third-trimester abortions
• 227 counts of violating the Pennsylvania Abortion Act's 24-hour waiting period requirement and failing to properly counsel patients
• Racketeering
• Conspiracy
• Criminal solicitation

AUL has developed a unique expertise in the area of abortion clinic regulations. Drawing on our successful decade's long defense of Arizona's 1999 abortion clinic regulation law, AUL has developed two pieces of model legislation requiring regular inspections of abortion clinics and strict adherence to medically appropriate standards of patient care:

• The "Abortion Patients' Enhanced Safety Act" mandates that abortion clinics meet the same stringent patient care standards as other facilities performing other outpatient surgeries.
• The "Women's Health Protection Act" requires that abortion clinics meet minimum health and safety standards in a variety of areas including recordkeeping, staffing, sanitation, patient intake and testing, the abortion procedure itself, and post-operative care.

SOURCE Americans United for Life