Horrifying Abortion Clinic Was Only Busted Because It Wrote Illegal Prescriptions
Gosnell is charged with killing seven late-term infants by "snipping" their spinal cords and giving a 41-year-old immigrant patient a fatal overdose of the painkiller Demerol. Prosecutors also believe he "snipped" hundreds of other babies, according to a 281-page grand jury report.
Gosnell's Women's Medical Society clinic hadn't been inspected since 1993 because of pro-choice politics. DEA agents couldn't ignore the gore they saw when they raided the place in 2010 following reports he'd been writing illegal prescriptions.
Late at night, Gosnell performed illegal abortions in a clinic with blood and cat feces on the floor and semi-conscious, moaning women covered in dirty blankets, according to the 281-page grand jury report laying out the allegations against him.
The Women's Medical Society was a "pill mill" by day, according that report. Gosnell allegedly didn't even show up during the day. Instead, he left pre-signed prescription pads so his unskilled workers could give walk-in "patients" prescriptions for Oxycontin and other controlled meds if they were willing to pay the right price, the report said.
At least one former clinic worker had pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing painkillers at Gosnell's clinic.
While the "pill mill" was almost certainly illegal, it wasn't nearly as awful as the alleged baby killing and unsanitary conditions at the clinic. Blood stained the entire clinic. It reeked of urine and there were remains of aborted fetuses everywhere, according to the report. Perhaps most disturbingly, Gosnell kept severed baby feet in jars.
"In the end Gosnell was only caught by accident, when police raided his offices to seize evidence of his illegal prescription selling," the report stated.
"Once law enforcement agents went in, they couldn't help noticing the disgusting conditions, the dazed patients, the discarded fetuses," the report added. "This is why the complete regulatory collapse that occurred here is so inexcusable. It should have taken only one look."