Dr. Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of murder on Monday, for killing three babies during supposed late-term abortion procedures he performed at a clinic which serves low-income women in Philadelphia. He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and 21 counts of performing an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Gosnell faces the death penalty for his crimes, and sentencing is expected next week. (Update: Clarified wording based on newer version of the story. — Scott @ SFB; Photo via MicahFries.com) source
[Kirsten] Powers, [Conor] Friedersdorf and other critics point out that, given how lurid the details of this case are, it’s surprising that national media outlets haven’t covered it more. It is surprising that more outlets haven’t covered it, but it’s not entirely fair to say that national media haven’t reported on it.
A quick search of the Associated Press archives turns up dozens of articles going back to when the indictment was handed down, AP Spokesperson Paul Colford told Poynter. Likewise, The New York Times ran several stories in 2011 and 2012, both staff-written and AP generated. Although, since the trial began, the Times has only run one story. Philadelphia media, meanwhile, has been covering the case extensively for years.
McBride, in emphasizing the overall issue, puts it like this: “The Gosnell story raises questions about how national media decide when to report on a local story.” Gosnell is charged with multiple counts of murder involving late-term abortions, as well as one case involving the death of a patient.
We have been reporting to you about the media black out of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial. But this takes it to a new level. Wikipedia is considering deleting the article citing, among other things, that it is nothing more than a “local” news story.
Here’s the article and a screenshot:
But as it turns out …
The story has resolved itself already. Only one person voted to delete. Everyone else was “Keep” or “Strong Keep.”
Since his arrest, a portrait has emerged of a bright young man who was brought in to help rebuild Mantua but ultimately may have done far more to bring it down.
Over the years, his abortion practice deteriorated. He prescribed drugs freely, investigators say. And in the twilight of his career, he has become a symbol for those who would tighten restrictions on all abortion providers.
Gosnell is accused of doing some awful things, nearly all of which you’ll learn about behind the link (be warned). When you’re done reading this, read Dave Weigel’s piece on the “media blackout” that some are suggesting is happening with the case. Whatever your take on abortion, you should be aware of this story, because it’s starting to pick up mainstream traction.
North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple on Tuesday signed a measure giving the state the most restrictive abortion law in the United States, a bill banning the procedure in most cases once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks.
Dalrymple also said the constitutionality of the measure was an open question and said state lawmakers should appropriate money to a litigation fund for the state attorney general to defend against any possible challenges to the law.
“Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe v. Wade,” Dalrymple said in a statement.
Considering many women don’t even receive confirmation that they’re pregnant until four to six weeks after conception, the decision essentially gives women roughly fourteen days (if they’re lucky) to decide whether or not they’d like to be a mother. Because forcing people to rush important decisions, like whether or not somebody wants to be a parent, is always a good idea, right?
The bill outlaws abortions from the point at which a heartbeat can be detected in the fetus, which can happen as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy. Doctors performing an abortion after this point would face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, while the woman receiving the abortion would face no penalties. The bill is in direct violation of Roe v. Wade, which permits all women to receive abortions prior to viability (usually 22-24 weeks), and abortions rights groups have already pledged to challenge the law in court if and when Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple signs it. source
The law makes abortions illegal after 12 weeks - a violation of Roe v. Wade, which allows a fetus to be aborted until it’s viable outside outside of the womb (roughly 24 weeks). Democratic Governor Mike Beebe, who unsuccessfully tried to veto the legislation, called it “blatantly unconstitutional,” and several progressive groups have pledge to challenge the law in federal court.
Governor Beebe’s decision to veto the legislation moves him into waters that he has assiduously avoided throughout his governorship.Jay Barth, chairman of the Department of Politics & International Relations at Hendrix College • Discussing the veto of an Arkansas bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, performed by Democratic Governor Mike Beebe. Arkansas state law already sets abortion restrictions for women who are over 25 weeks pregnant, and this new bill’s ban represents the incremental efforts of the state’s anti-abortion interests. It may still become law, as well, despite the gubernatorial veto — it can be overrode by a mere majority vote, a rare event in Arkansas politics, but one that given the ideologically charged nature of this issue may come to pass regardless. source
Michael Keller and Allison Yarrow mapped the country’s abortion clinics and the distance women in different locations would need to travel to visit one:
The clearest trend on the map is the dearth of clinics through the center of the country—from northern Texas through Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Roughly 400,000 women of reproductive age (between 15 and 44) live more than 150 miles from the closest clinic in this region. The county farthest away from an abortion clinic is Divide, N.D. All of these states except Wyoming require 24-hour waiting periods between the time a woman schedules an abortion and the procedure.
Interactive version of the map here.
On the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the ability of women in some midwestern states to receive abortions is less a contested legal issue than one of simple access.
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This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. (via sonicbloom11)
Let’s start our own abortion industry.Rush Limbaugh • Trying to figure out how Republicans can win back some female supporters following Mitt Romney’s loss in the Presidential Election last night. (Just heard this on the radio. — SC)
In a historic move this week, Uruguayan President José Mujica has signed into law a bill that waives criminal penalties for abortion in the first 12 weeks of gestation, with certain procedural requirements, and in the first 14 weeks of gestation in the cases of rape.
The law marks a significant development in realizing women’s human rights and preventing unsafe, clandestine abortions in the region.Read more after the jump.
© 2012 Reuters
A huge development on the women’s rights front.
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