Did pro-lifers drive women to Kermit Gosnell?

Pro-aborts have finally acknowledged that the trial of Kermit Gosnell exists, and since doing so, they’ve realized that they need to go on the defensive. The trial had by and large been ignored, most likely to protect abortion, until there was a huge outcry calling for an end to the media blackout.

So pro-aborts started talking about it. But their condemnation for Gosnell was rather lacking, considering that overwhelmingly, the condemnation lasted for only a sentence or two before moving on to their real point: pro-lifers are completely and totally to blame for all of the destruction and death Gosnell wreaked! This is in addition to claiming that it was actually conservatives and pro-lifers who have been ignoring the story until now (um, not true).

According to Jezebel, this is all because of abortion restrictions:

Women were hurt by Gosnell because he broke the laws and they had nowhere else to go. This is what happens when states restrict access to abortion: women seek out illegal and dangerous options. In Pennsylvania, there are zero abortion clinics in the hundreds of miles between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. History proves that women will always find a way to access abortion when in need. Is this the type of experience we want them to have?

Planned Parenthood condemned Gosnell in a twenty-word tweet…where they then linked to a story arguing for fewer restrictions on abortion.

The news of the alleged practices at Gosnell’s clinic prompted calls for stronger regulations of abortion services. The fact is abortion is already a highly restricted procedure, especially in Pennsylvania, where regulations include mandatory waiting periods and traveling two or three times to separate appointments. These restrictions have caused some women to delay abortion procedures, often into the second trimester, where it becomes both a higher medical risk and more expensive.

No new regulations can stop a physician who has decided to disregard the law. Restrictions that would further hinder access to safe abortion is not the answer, and will only increase the number of poor women who are forced by circumstances to turn to unsafe options for care.

Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL, blames it on right-wing, anti-abortion extremists.

Evidence suggests that a number of factors influenced a woman’s decision to seek care at Gosnell’s clinic: Medicaid’s refusal to provide insurance coverage for most abortions; the scarcity of abortion providers in Pennsylvania (and across the nation); the fear of violence perpetrated by protestors at clinics, and the right-wing culture that has so stigmatized abortion that many think it is still illegal 40 years after Roe v. Wade.

Perhaps most laughable is Amanda Marcotte, also claiming that taxpayer-funded abortion would have prevented Gosnell’s atrocities – yet also trying to cover abortion advocates by claiming that the National Abortion Federation rejected Gosnell’s disgusting clinic.

As advocates of quality health care for women, we have tried, sadly in vain much of the time, to remind people who simple fixes, such as offering Medicaid coverage of abortion, could take the issue of cost off the table and make it easier for women not to resort to illegal operators who use unsanitary and sadistic methods, like Gosnell.

… Pro-choicers want women to receive safe, clean, ethical abortion care. We fully and completely support government regulations of all medical facilities aimed at making sure patients get this kind of care. We are so supportive of safe, clean abortion care that we have our own organization called the National Abortion Federation to certify quality clinics. (NAF unsurprisingly refused to certify Gosnell, even though he cleaned his clinic up and pretended to have medically trained staff in an effort to trick them.) The key here is that we believe that abortion clinics should be subject to the regulations like other medical facilities, and that those regulations should be aimed at making sure women get quality care.

Of course, the reality is that pro-aborts fight at every turn against abortion clinics being regulated like other medical facilities. And while, yes, the National Abortion Federation did refuse to certify Gosnell’s clinic, they also saw firsthand the disgusting conditions he was practicing in – and did nothing. They turned a blind eye and didn’t report him. It was called the worst clinic the inspectors had ever seen, yet they did not report him. So maybe Marcotte shouldn’t brag about that one too much.

But let’s examine the question at hand. Is it because of pro-lifers, and anti-abortion legislation, that women were forced to go to Kermit Gosnell? Well, there are multiple abortion clinics in Philadelphia, including multiple Planned Parenthood clinics across the state. At least one of the clinics, just from looking at their website, offers fee reductions. One of the abortionists, Dr. Charles Benjamin, performs abortions up to 21 weeks.

As to cost, Gosnell was certainly not performing abortions for pennies. The man made himself a millionaire, allegedly charging women thousands of dollars to kill their babies. So this idea of women being driven to Gosnell because they had no other options and he was cheap? Not quite.

So why did women go there? The pro-aborts mentioned the reasons themselves. Other clinics had protesters out front, which scared them. Some women had referrals from friends. But they went to Gosnell not because he was inexpensive or their only choice. Pro-aborts are simply seeking to, once again, protect the idea of abortion. They want to reassure people – this isn’t normal, we don’t stand for this, we want abortion to be safe, and it’s all because of pro-lifers that this happened. But on what planet does it make any sense that a lack of regulations would prevent the Kermit Gosnells of the world from practicing?

For all their whining about too-strict regulations and restrictions in Pennsylvania, the reality is that Gosnell was able to go almost two decades without undergoing a single inspection. Two patients died, other patients were injured or contracted sexually transmitted diseases. Various state and city departments knew about these things but looked the other way. So clearly, there aren’t overly burdensome regulations on abortion clinics in Pennsylvania.

It was only after Gosnell’s house of horrors was finally discovered that changes started to be made – and yet, pro-aborts are decrying these stricter regulations and blaming the whole thing on pro-lifers. It’s a little hard to take their outrage and condemnation seriously when they’re more focused on speaking out against preventing future Kermit Gosnells than they are the actual horrors that took place.