LIFE DIGEST: Clinic workers plead guilty to murder
- Nov 1, 2011 -
Two women pleaded guilty Oct. 27 to third-degree murder for their roles in deaths at a squalid Philadelphia, Pa., abortion clinic.
Adrienne Moton, 34, made her plea in the death of a child who was killed after being born alive, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Sherry West, 52, pleaded guilty in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who died as a result of a sedative overdose during an abortion.
Also in this edition: Federal judge bars ultrasound provision in N.C. law, More than 400 unborn babies saved so far, 40 Days reports, Judge blocks Oklahoma law barring ‘off-label’ use of RU 486, and Planned Parenthood recruits White House aide.
Moton and West worked for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell at the Women’s Medical Society, a clinic in West Philadelphia.
Gosnell, who owned the clinic, has been charged with eight counts of murder – one in the death of Mongar and seven in the deaths of viable, fully delivered children who were killed.
Those babies were only some of hundreds at least six months into gestation who were killed outside the womb after induced delivery at the clinic, a grand jury reported. Gosnell destroyed most of the files, limiting prosecution to only seven cases, according to the report.
A February 2010 raid of the clinic found deplorable conditions, which resulted in its closing and Gosnell’s medical license being suspended.
Gosnell had never been certified as an obstetrician/gynecologist, the grand jury reported. It also found none of his employees were licensed to operate or to provide anesthesia. Gosnell’s wife and six other employees also were indicted for murder and/or other charges.
Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner said Moton’s maximum sentence could be 120 years and West’s 140 years, the Daily News reported. Their sentencing is tentatively set for Dec. 2.
Federal judge bars ultrasound provision in N.C. law
A federal judge in Greensboro, N.C., blocked Oct. 25 enforcement of a section of a new state law that requires a doctor to display for the mother an ultrasound image of her unborn child before performing an abortion.
In issuing the preliminary injunction, judge Catherine Eagles permitted the rest of North Carolina’s Women’s Right to Know Act to go into effect Oct. 26. The law also mandates information be offered to the woman on the development of her unborn baby, as well as alternatives to and risks of abortion. That information must be provided at least 24 hours before a scheduled abortion.
Eagles denied there is evidence the ultrasound provision advances the state’s assertion it would protect women considering abortion “from psychological and emotional distress.” The evidence “establishes that these provisions are likely to harm the psychological health of the very group the state purports to protect,” she wrote.
Barbara Holt, North Carolina Right to Life’s president, expressed gratitude most of the law would go into effect but said “it is extremely regrettable mothers will be unable to see real-time images of their unborn children kicking and moving inside the womb and hear their children’s heartbeat.”
The North Carolina legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto to enact the law in July.
More than 400 unborn babies saved so far, 40 Days reports
The 40 Days for Life staff had received reports of 417 unborn children saved so far in this fall’s campaign, it reported Oct. 31.
The campaign – which focuses on peaceful, pro-life prayer vigils outside abortion clinics – will conclude Nov. 6. This fall’s 40-day campaign includes outreaches at 301 sites, the most in the effort’s history.
The prayer vigil at a Southfield, Mich., abortion clinic resulted in the following report:
“A young couple walked out of the abortion center with a handful of paperwork. ‘They had just found out she was farther than they thought — 17 weeks,’ said a 40 Days for Life volunteer. ‘And after paying $150 for the ultrasound, they didn’t have the $775 to complete the abortion.’
“The volunteers mentioned a pro-life center that would do another ultrasound — free — to see if they were told the truth. The couple accepted the offer.
“‘There’s NO WAY we’re having the abortion now,’ the father said, after seeing the ultrasound. ‘I thought the baby was the size of a quarter from the picture they gave us.’”
The semi-annual, 40 Days campaigns consist of 40 days of prayer and fasting to end abortion, as well as community outreach and the prayer vigils outside clinics. The effort, which began in Texas in 2004 and went national in 2007, has received reports of more than 4,700 unborn lives saved from abortion as a result of its campaigns.
Judge blocks Oklahoma law barring ‘off-label’ use of RU 486
An Oklahoma judge has halted temporarily enforcement of a new law that prohibits the use of the abortion drug RU 486 except under the guidelines by which it received federal approval.
Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens issued the preliminary injunction Oct. 19, according to The Daily Oklahoman. The law, which also requires a physician’s examination before an abortion, was to go into effect Nov. 1.
Oklahoma legislators approved the measure in response to some abortion providers’ use of the drug in an “off-label” manner, or in ways outside the protocol approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At least eight women have died in the United States after taking the abortion drug, and critics have blamed its “off-label” use in some of those cases.
Rep. Randy Grau, R.-Edmond, said Owen’s injunction is “the wrong decision. It’s one that I think puts Oklahomans at risk. This bill is about patient protection and safety, and the judge has put a stop to those protective measures that the Legislature overwhelmingly supported.”
Planned Parenthood recruits White House aide
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has hired a White House official for its top public policy post.
PPFA – the country’s leading abortion provider — named Dana Singiser as its vice president for public policy and government relations Oct. 27. Singiser, who has served in the White House since President Obama took office, was special assistant to the president for legislative affairs.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D.-Md., a leading abortion rights advocate, said Singiser is “smart, tenacious and committed to women’s health and protecting the right to choose.”
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