Kermit Gosnell photographed following his arrest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Had you heard of the name Kermit Gosnell before you read the title of this post?
The most likely response is “no.” One might wonder why the trial of an accused late-term abortion doctor is getting minimum, if any, major news coverage. Gosnell is accused of delivering babies only to sever their spines with scissors. He is on trial for the deaths of seven babies and one woman who died during a botched abortion. Kermit Gosnell has pled not guilty.
Kirsten Powers, USA Today columnist, wrote a scathing article lambasting the mainstream media for their lack of coverage. A Lexis-Nexis search has shown that none of the three major networks has covered the trial in the past three months. Instead we’ve been subjected to stories of little relevance or importance (a.k.a. Jodi Arias trial and how much weight Kim Kardashian has gained). This weekend I scanned the local networks to see any mention of this trial. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single mention. Instead the leading, and apparently most important, news story today was the potential disqualification Tiger Woods at the Masters Golf tournament. Woods being penalized two strokes was THE leading story this morning.
In addition, to essentially murdering infants, Gosnell ran an unsanitary clinic. He would send women to give birth in toilets. He infected many with STDs because equipment wasn’t properly cleaned. A 15-year-old would administer anesthesia and workers would play games while administering powerful narcotics to patients. Some of the witnesses testifying to Gosnell’s guilt have stated that he killed hundreds of babies. Late-term abortion wasn’t his only business. He was apparently fronting a drug business at the clinic.
Regardless of what your opinion is on the controversial issue of abortion I can confidently state that most people find this to be a heinous crime. In fact, according to state law it is a crime. An abortion cannot be performed on a fetus older than 24 weeks in the state of Pennsylvania. Regardless of technicality, these aren’t fetuses. These are babies born alive who are then savagely murdered by someone who took an oath to save lives.
Some cable shows have reported of the trial this past week; including Jake Tapper’s new show on CNN “The Lead” (you should check his show out). Anderson Cooper ran an in detail special this past Friday on his CNN show. FOX News as you would suspect is leading the coverage on the trial. The problem that many have brought up is why it has taken so long to cover this story.
Is it the gruesomeness of the details?
Is it the media’s unwillingness to showcase the atrocities that occur in some late-term abortion clinics?
I’m not sure I know the answer.
The only thing I know is that I have now spent more time and attention on this trial than many major journalists. I don’t know about you, but I think that is a problem. After all, I am not a journalist. I don’t pretend to be. I didn’t even major in journalism. I am only someone who enjoys writing and debating topics with fair and respectful-minded people.
What do you think?
Should this trial have been more closely reported?
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Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate
