This afternoon, ABC News reported this horrendous story: "An abortion doctor in Philadelphia has been charged with eight murders, including seven babies who prosecutors say were born alive then killed with scissors. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, and nine employees from his West Philadelphia Women's Medical Society were arrested Wednesday. He and his staff also are charged with killing a woman who was given a lethal dose of Demerol." The babies were born alive and then killed "by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord." The grand jury presentment and report on the doctors are available in full from the Office of the District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia (WARNING: Graphic photos in report).
In cases such as this, there should be two outlets for use by victims in exposing the practices of a horrible doctor, before he and his staff are so bad that the criminal justice system takes over. Unfortunately, it looks like one of those, the state's regulatory system over doctors, completely failed according to the story: "(S)tate regulators ignored numerous complaints about Gosnell's clinic and his office hadn't been inspected since 1993." The second outlet, that of filing a civil malpractice suit, was apparently pursued - ABC News says the doctor was the subject of "at least 10 malpractice suits" - but none of them apparently reached a jury and the public exposure of the doctor's practices. For whatever reason, no local jury of the victims' peers was convened to provide some justice and hold the doctor accountable in accordance with the 7th Amendment to the Constitution.
Those Members of Congress who insist on "medmal reform" should remember this case! The Founding Fathers knew, from centuries of British experience, that citizens needed to have a forum within which they could present evidence to their neighbors of their civil claims. The Founders knew that a local jury is the best way to hold liars, cheaters and murderers accountable for their crimes and negligence, including for the most heinous acts. The Founders wrote about it, fought for it, killed for it and were willing to sacrifice "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" for the unalienable right.
"Medmal reform" could result in more cases like the Philly House of Horrors, hidden from view until it's too late for innocent victims. Would Congress really try to cap the damages for victims of the Philly House of Horrors? Surely dead babies should not have their life valued at a predetermined amount.
Leave a comment