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| The Kermit Gosnell murder case proves why safe abortion options are needed | The Kermit Gosnell murder case proves why safe abortion options are needed |
| (4 months later) | |
| Kermit Gosnell has been found guilty of first-degree murder. Pro-choice groups cheered the ruling. He is a criminal, as Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and nearly every pro-choice writer who has written about this case have emphatically stated, and a vivid picture of what abortion was like before legalization. He has received due process and will soon receive his due – and deserved – punishment. | Kermit Gosnell has been found guilty of first-degree murder. Pro-choice groups cheered the ruling. He is a criminal, as Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and nearly every pro-choice writer who has written about this case have emphatically stated, and a vivid picture of what abortion was like before legalization. He has received due process and will soon receive his due – and deserved – punishment. |
| Even as Planned Parenthood and NARAL resoundingly decry Gosnell's practice and applaud the verdict, the anti-choice contingent still wants to tar pro-choice groups with the Gosnell brush. He's a rogue, an outlier, and possibly a sociopath, but anti-choicers seemingly consider him a gift because the brutality of his crimes allows them to insist that this is what abortion really is and that it justifies excessive clinic regulations, and ultimately the re-criminalization of abortion. (Interestingly, when legal and aboveboard abortion provider George Tiller was shot inside his church, the "pro-life" crowd didn't demand stricter gun regulations). | Even as Planned Parenthood and NARAL resoundingly decry Gosnell's practice and applaud the verdict, the anti-choice contingent still wants to tar pro-choice groups with the Gosnell brush. He's a rogue, an outlier, and possibly a sociopath, but anti-choicers seemingly consider him a gift because the brutality of his crimes allows them to insist that this is what abortion really is and that it justifies excessive clinic regulations, and ultimately the re-criminalization of abortion. (Interestingly, when legal and aboveboard abortion provider George Tiller was shot inside his church, the "pro-life" crowd didn't demand stricter gun regulations). |
| Having cheerfully shamed women seeking abortions, they now want to shame supporters of abortion rights by, as Jill Filipovic says, "conflating the illegal procedures performed by Gosnell with safe, legal abortion". | Having cheerfully shamed women seeking abortions, they now want to shame supporters of abortion rights by, as Jill Filipovic says, "conflating the illegal procedures performed by Gosnell with safe, legal abortion". |
| But whatever incorrect argument anti-choicers want to make, they bump up against reality. Gosnell is the exact opposite of all the pro-choice community stands for. Planned Parenthood prides itself on putting the safety and needs of its patients first, and treats everyone equally, regardless of their income. It works with state and federal governments to maintain proper standards at every one of its clinics. Gosnell, taking full advantage of the free market, was able to make money in part because Planned Parenthood does not receive enough funding. | But whatever incorrect argument anti-choicers want to make, they bump up against reality. Gosnell is the exact opposite of all the pro-choice community stands for. Planned Parenthood prides itself on putting the safety and needs of its patients first, and treats everyone equally, regardless of their income. It works with state and federal governments to maintain proper standards at every one of its clinics. Gosnell, taking full advantage of the free market, was able to make money in part because Planned Parenthood does not receive enough funding. |
| Rather than invigorating the right, the Gosnell case should invigorate, and encourage, supporters of family planning and abortion rights. It proves why those rights are so vital. Those who want to put rights supporters on the defensive fail, mostly because they have never understood what being pro-choice is. Briefly: | Rather than invigorating the right, the Gosnell case should invigorate, and encourage, supporters of family planning and abortion rights. It proves why those rights are so vital. Those who want to put rights supporters on the defensive fail, mostly because they have never understood what being pro-choice is. Briefly: |
| Being pro-choice means demanding all women have access to all the information and options available, in a timely fashion, so that they can determine their own best course. | Being pro-choice means demanding all women have access to all the information and options available, in a timely fashion, so that they can determine their own best course. |
| Being pro-choice means being in favor of the right to a safe, legal abortion by a trained medical professional who adheres to board-approved standards and practices. | Being pro-choice means being in favor of the right to a safe, legal abortion by a trained medical professional who adheres to board-approved standards and practices. |
| Being pro-choice means wanting that option available to anyone, without judgment. | Being pro-choice means wanting that option available to anyone, without judgment. |
| Being pro-choice means being in favor of tax dollars allocated to healthcare provision for those on the lowest income scale, because being poor does not mean you should receive lesser care or have less access. | Being pro-choice means being in favor of tax dollars allocated to healthcare provision for those on the lowest income scale, because being poor does not mean you should receive lesser care or have less access. |
| Being pro-choice means finding and calling out the Gosnells of the world, because his illegal practice exploited poor, desperate women exactly as too many "providers" did before the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision. | Being pro-choice means finding and calling out the Gosnells of the world, because his illegal practice exploited poor, desperate women exactly as too many "providers" did before the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision. |
| Being pro-choice means being adamant that we are not going back to the back alleys. | Being pro-choice means being adamant that we are not going back to the back alleys. |
The anti-choice crowd wants us to be ashamed of Gosnell. But it's their shame, because they are the ones who made him possible. | The anti-choice crowd wants us to be ashamed of Gosnell. But it's their shame, because they are the ones who made him possible. |
| Their outrage only highlights their hypocrisy. The bestselling book The Good Nurse, by Charles Graeber, details the many years nurse Charlie Cullen was able to murder hundreds of hospital patients before being caught, tried, and imprisoned, but until the book's release, the national outcry for hospital oversight reforms was decidedly muted. | Their outrage only highlights their hypocrisy. The bestselling book The Good Nurse, by Charles Graeber, details the many years nurse Charlie Cullen was able to murder hundreds of hospital patients before being caught, tried, and imprisoned, but until the book's release, the national outcry for hospital oversight reforms was decidedly muted. |
| If you really want to preempt the Gosnells, provide sex education in schools. Provide access to a wide range of affordable birth control, covered by health insurance. Crack down on pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control. Fund clinics. Fund and reform state and local government so that when a complaint against a business is filed, due diligence is quickly taken. Repeal the Hyde Amendment so Medicaid can cover abortions. Stop scaring women away from reputable clinics, because that won't stop them from getting an abortion, just getting a safe one. | If you really want to preempt the Gosnells, provide sex education in schools. Provide access to a wide range of affordable birth control, covered by health insurance. Crack down on pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control. Fund clinics. Fund and reform state and local government so that when a complaint against a business is filed, due diligence is quickly taken. Repeal the Hyde Amendment so Medicaid can cover abortions. Stop scaring women away from reputable clinics, because that won't stop them from getting an abortion, just getting a safe one. |
| Pro-choice groups are in favor of strong regulations – that's what Roe helped establish. That's what states like New York had in place prior to Roe. Planned Parenthood clinics operate under established regulations, and so their patients receive quality care, even though clinics are overwhelmed. | Pro-choice groups are in favor of strong regulations – that's what Roe helped establish. That's what states like New York had in place prior to Roe. Planned Parenthood clinics operate under established regulations, and so their patients receive quality care, even though clinics are overwhelmed. |
| If abortion wasn't tarred as The Procedure That Dare Not Speak Its Name, additional affordable facilities could be in place. If the radical right wasn't so eager to turn the modern world medieval, there would be more access to quality, affordable birth control and early abortions, which are far safer than the rarer late-term variety that killed and injured Gosnell's patients. | If abortion wasn't tarred as The Procedure That Dare Not Speak Its Name, additional affordable facilities could be in place. If the radical right wasn't so eager to turn the modern world medieval, there would be more access to quality, affordable birth control and early abortions, which are far safer than the rarer late-term variety that killed and injured Gosnell's patients. |
| Gosnell committed ghastly crimes and will be punished. It's time to stop punishing the women who need proper reproductive health care and have committed no crime, except being too poor to afford it. | Gosnell committed ghastly crimes and will be punished. It's time to stop punishing the women who need proper reproductive health care and have committed no crime, except being too poor to afford it. |
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