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Congressman: ‘I Was Almost Aborted’

Photo Credit: Greg GroeschOn a cold December night in 1975, a 17-year-old girl sobbed on the bedroom floor of a neighbor’s house. Her own home had just burned to the ground, destroying everything she had. But that wasn’t the only weight she carried that night. She had just discovered that she was a few weeks pregnant with her first child. In the dark, alone and terrified, she decided to find a way to Kalamazoo, Mich., 40 miles away, to “take care of her situation.”

That young girl was my mother, and if she had gone to Kalamazoo that night, you wouldn’t be reading this today. I would have been aborted.

Recently, after speaking on the House floor about the horrors of Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s abortion clinic in Philadelphia, I began wondering if my mother had ever thought about ending her unplanned pregnancy. My parents never gave any indication that it was ever a consideration, but was it?

I gave her a call. When she answered, I talked to her about my speech on the House floor and then asked gently, “Mom, did you ever think about .” There was a tense pause, and then, through tears she said, “Marlin, I’m so sorry!” As we cried together, I was no longer a congressman, but a son understanding for the first time the heartache and struggles my mom had gone through before I was born. As we talked about her fear of driving 40 miles alone, I had to think, “What if a ‘Gosnell‘ clinic was only four miles away instead of 40?”

She asked if I could forgive her. I answered, “Yes, with all my heart.” I said that I couldn’t imagine how scared she must have been, and how thankful I was for her and Dad’s strength to do the right thing and protect my life. It could have ended so differently. At home with my wife and two children that night, my heart ached at the thought that all of this might never have been.

Read more from this story HERE.

Senators Block Gosnell Resolution

Photo Credit: Daily Caller A Senate resolution aimed at investigating and correcting the policies which led to the illegal abortion practices of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell was blocked Monday evening.

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee attempted to hotline the resolution to express “the sense of the Senate that Congress and the States should investigate and correct abusive, unsanitary, and illegal abortion practices” Monday evening, but an unknown senator objected to its unanimous passage, according to Lee’s office.

“It is difficult to imagine why anyone would object to a non-binding resolution calling on Congress to investigate these alleged disturbing, horrific, and illegal abortion practices committed by Kermit Gosnell and others,” Lee said in a statement.

“With numerous reports of similar instances surfacing around the country, the need for greater regulatory oversight of these so-called clinics is so plainly obvious it strains the limits of disbelief to think all members of the Senate would not agree,” he added. “The resolution is simply an affirmation that we as a country — a moral and compassionate society — have an interest in acting to save the lives of innocent women and children, and to prevent these kinds of heinous acts from happening to anyone again.”

Lee’s resolution, which has 11 co-sponsors, highlighted the crimes alleged against Gosnell, who faces more than 250 criminal charges, including first-degree murder charges for the deaths of four babies born alive in attempted abortions and a third-degree murder charge for a woman who died in 2009 during an abortion from a drug overdose.

Read more from this story HERE.

Kermit Gosnell Murder Trial Jury Reaches No Verdict Again After Two Days

Photo Credit: LifeNewsThe jury in the Kermit Gosnell murder trial deliberated for a second day today and ended the day with no verdict. However, member of the jury actively informed themselves of laws that are applicable to the case and asked for information and assistance from the judge.

If sentenced for the convictions, Gosnell could face the death penalty following the convictions by the jury in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia.

Under Pennsylvania law, all 12 of the jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on any of the murder counts Gosnell faces for him to be convicted on any of them. Each of the elements of a charged crime must be proven to each juror beyond reasonable doubt for that juror to vote to convict on that count and one reluctant juror could lead to a mistrial on any of the first-degree murder charges.

Since prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty in the case, the jury will only be deciding whether Gosnell is guilty related to the charges. If convicted, a second jury will be impaneled to determine sentencing under the penalty phase of the trial. During this phase, the judge has already instructed jurors to only consider guilt or innocence.

Given the number of charges Gosnell faces, and the fact that Gosnell has a co-defendant the jury is considering for conviction as well, the jury make take a longer period of time to arrive at a verdict on each of the 250-plus charges.

Read more from this story HERE.

Closing Argument: Gosnell Babies Treated Worse Than Sick Dogs

Photo Credit: Breitbart Closing arguments in the murder trial of an abortion provider alternated between the defense’s insistence that Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s office was no “house of horrors” to the prosecution’s brutal depiction of the deaths of a woman and four viable babies.

Gosnell had declined to testify in his defense or even call witnesses at his capital murder trial. Instead, his attorney, Jack McMahon, offered a passionate, often angry defense of his client, blaming the intense media interest in the case and the prosecution for creating a “tremendous rush to judgement.”

“Never in my life have I seen the presumption of innocence more trampled on, stomped on, than in this case,” McMahon said, arguing that the overdose death of the woman at his West Philadelphia clinic was a “tragic accident” and that there was “no scientific evidence” that Gosnell, 72, killed babies after they were born alive.

But Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron, in his closing argument, told a story about taking his sick dog to the veterinarian to be put down, with a shot to induce sleep first. “These babies didn’t even get that,” he said.

“My dog was treated better than he treated babies and women,” Cameron said. “And that’s because he didn’t care. He created an assembly line, with no regard for these women whatsoever.”

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Gosnell is Not Alone’: Undercover Video Reveals Gruesome Details of Late-Term Abortions at Bronx Clinic

A pro-life organization Sunday released undercover video of a counselor at a Bronx abortion facility offering graphic details about what happens to a baby who survives an attempted late-term abortion.

In the film, created by the pro-life organization Live Action, an abortion counselor at the Dr. Emily Women’s Health Center in the Bronx explains the gruesome late-term process to an undercover Live Action investigator seeking an abortion at 23 weeks (abortion is legal in New York State until the 24th week.)

In the video the counselor describes how the “fully grown” fetus will be sucked out with a “sucking tool that they hold, and it sucks it in” and how the fetus will come out in pieces because it will “start falling apart.”

If the fetus comes out in one piece, however, they put it “in a jar — a container, with solution,” the counselor explains — adding that everything that comes out in an abortion has “to go to the lab” to be disposed of.

Read more from this story HERE.

Baby Killers are Having a Good Week

Photo Credit: Washington TimesUnborn and newborn babies aren’t getting much support from the White House this week. President Obama continues to refuse to weigh in on the case of alleged serial killer abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. Instead, he agreed to give the keynote address at Planned Parenthood’s annual gala dinner on Thursday night.

The White House realized Wednesday that the public outcry was too loud and made up an excuse why Mr. Obama couldn’t give the major address, but would do a smaller speech at a Friday breakfast. It is unheard of for a president to cancel a scheduled speech or event — especially with one day notice — unless in the case of a major domestic or international crisis. Spending extra times with the families of victims of the fertilizer factory in Waco, Texas does not fit those criteria.

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Dr. Gosnell apparently thinks his case is a slam dunk. His lawyer rested the case Wednesday without putting a single witness on the stand to rebut the five weeks of testimony from the prosecution.

On Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart acquitted the abortion doctor of three of the first-degree murder charges, leaving the defendant facing four counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing babies after they were born by cutting their spinal cords with scissors. He also faces a charge of third-degree murder for giving too much medication to a woman during an abortion at his clinic, according to the prosecution.

The president followed the lead of the liberal mainstream media by ignoring the Grosnell trial, in the hopes that the public would as well. Conservative outlets — particularly Fox News, which has been covering the case since 2011 — have been the only ones bringing the horrific details of the abortion clinic to the public. On April 15, Fox News’ Ed Henry was the first of the White House press corps to ask Press Secretary Jay Carney about the Gosnell trial. The spokesman would only say that the president is “aware” of it and “does not and cannot take a position on an ongoing trial.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Gosnell Fallout: Another Ohio Abortion Clinic Forced to Close its Doors

Photo Credit: bradbrundageThe state is shutting down an abortion provider in Cuyahoga Falls.

The Ohio Department of Health recently issued an order to Capital Care Network, 2127 State Road, saying it was revoking the clinic’s Health Care Facility license to operate an outpatient surgical facility. The clinic is prohibited from “performing medical services, including surgical procedures, pharmaceutical services and anesthesia services,” according to an April 16 adjudication order.

The state health department did an annual inspection at Capital Care on Feb. 14 and found numerous Ohio Administrative Code violations. The department issued a notice that it planned to revoke the clinic’s license.

The clinic didn’t request a hearing.

Tess Pollock, a spokeswoman for the state agency, said the clinic “had a long list of violations, so we needed to move forward.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Eighteen Members of Congress Expose Kermit Gosnell in Speeches (+videos)

Photo Credit: LifeNewsEighteen members of Congress went to the floor of the House today to do the job they said the mainstream media is not doing: talking about the murder trial of abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell.

The speeches were organized by Rep. Marlin Stuzman (R-IN) and were delivered during designated times when Members are given one minute to speak on the subject of their choice.

“Kermit Gosnell is a real-life Hannibal Lecter. Gosnell operated an abortion clinic that severed the necks of hundreds of babies and stuffed their bodies into freezers, plastic bags, and cat food tins.”

Here are a few videos of representatives who spoke out:

Read more from this story HERE.

Fox News Special: “See No Evil – The Kermit Gosnell Murders” Airs May 5

Photo Credit: Life NewsFox News will air a one-hour special on abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell and his murder charges Sunday May 5 at 9 p.m. ET. The cable news channel has now unveiled the name of the program, which will be called “See No Evil – The Kermit Gosnell Murders.”

Father Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life, announced the special to LifeNews in an email this morning and encouraged pro-life advocates to tune in and to let others know about it.

“Please spread the word starting now,” he said. “Let’s do all we can to spread the word about this so as to get as many people as possible to watch, and to show our friends in the secular media that when this topic is addressed, people tune in.”

Father Pavone says it is up to the pro-life movement to expose Gosnell to the nation, with the mainstream media largely punting coverage of his trial.

Read more from this story HERE.

Several Murder Charges Against 'House of Horrors' Abortion Doc Tossed by Judge

Photo Credit: APThree of eight murder charges were thrown out Tuesday against a Philadelphia abortion provider whose clinic was called a “house of horrors,” apparently because the judge had not heard sufficient evidence from prosecutors that the three babies were viable, born alive and then killed.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, still faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in four remaining infant deaths. Prosecutors have argued that the babies were viable and that Gosnell and his staff cut the back of their necks to kill them. The judge also upheld murder charges in a patient’s overdose death.

Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Minehart did not explain why he granted some of the defense motion to acquit Gosnell after more than a month of prosecution testimony. Such motions are routine but rarely granted.

The defense questioned testimony from staffers who said they had seen babies move, cry or breathe. McMahon argued that each testified to seeing only a single movement or breath.

“These are not the movements of a live child,” McMahon said. “There is not one piece — not one — of objective, scientific evidence that anyone was born alive.”

Read more from this story HERE.