The results of slicing and dicing babies

By Judie Brown

The murder of a human being is a tragic, horrible crime. Lives are shattered, people mourn. In cases where multiple people are murdered, our nation's press pounces like a hungry cat. But what about when multiple tiny babies are murdered and discarded like trash? Where is the outrage? Where are the tears to mourn this loss of life? Today's commentary examines the case of Kermit Gosnell – a murderer of the most innocent among us.

It would be nice if I could write about the Kermit Gosnell trial with the assurance that every American was aware of this abortionist's dastardly deeds. But sadly, since the mainstream media has for the most part ignored his trial, we cannot make such an assumption.

First, before we delve into the media's blindside, let's find out what the infamous baby butcher actually did according to those who witnessed firsthand his hands-on-killing of babies born alive after abortion.

Ashley Baldwin, who worked at the clinic from the time she was fifteen until age twenty-two, is reported to have seen, on at least two occasions, "aborted babies move after the procedure, only to have Gosnell explain that it [was] an involuntary response. In one case, she said, 'the chest was moving.'"

Another abortion clinic worker named Sherry West "described an incident which 'really freaked (her) out' and related to the jury how she heard a child scream who was born alive following an abortion."

According to LifeNews.com, "West remembered how she referred to the dead children killed in these gruesome abortion procedures as "specimens" so she could avoid the mental trauma associated with knowing how they died."

NBC 10 in Philadelphia reported,

Stephen Massof described how he snipped the spinal cords of babies, calling it, "literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body." He testified that at times, when women were given medicine to speed up their deliveries, "it would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place."

Massof, of Pittsburgh, is in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in the deaths of two newborns.

He is now testifying against his former boss, abortion provider Kermit Gosnell.

In other words, there is a 72-year-old man on trial who has paraded around in a white coat for years, killing babies – born and preborn – with impunity until his grisly practices caught up with him. Now, finally, the truth is barely getting out.

Kirsten Powers, a well-known commentator on news and politics wrote in USA Today,

Let me state the obvious. This should be front page news. When Rush Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke, there was nonstop media hysteria. The venerable NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams intoned, "A firestorm of outrage from women after a crude tirade from Rush Limbaugh," as he teased a segment on the brouhaha. Yet, accusations of babies having their heads severed – a major human rights story if there ever was one – doesn't make the cut.

You don't have to oppose abortion rights to find late-term abortion abhorrent or to find the Gosnell trial eminently newsworthy. This is not about being "pro-choice" or "pro-life." It's about basic human rights.

The deafening silence of too much of the media, once a force for justice in America, is a disgrace.

A host of "conservative" leaders issued a joint statement about the media blackout relative to the Gosnell trial, which said in part: "The Kermit Gosnell case, in which his abortion clinic has been described as a 'House of Horrors,' could have been plucked from the fever dream of Hollywood's most depraved slasher film writer, and yet ABC, CBS, and NBC have completely censored it out of the news."

In addition, the most outspoken pro-life congressman, New Jersey's own Chris Smith, has issued a statement on this egregious media cover-up.

While it is good that national figures are speaking out and decrying the media's blatant attempt to avoid reporting on this case and others like it, there is another problem represented here.

In America, we are being guided by the media, by lawmakers, and by others to feel selective outrage. But in the process we are ignoring the burning fires in our communities, our own families, and among our friends. We are being brainwashed into insensitivity toward the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.

Imagine, for example, if Gosnell brutally slashed a dozen people or shot a group of citizens at random in a parking lot or in a school setting. The media would be graphically reporting the crimes, calling for weapons to be regulated by the government, and opining that a mental evaluation should be done on the perpetrator.

But Gosnell's crimes, which not only resulted in the deaths of born and preborn babies, but which maimed women and splintered families – as abortion so frequently does – do not earn a headline, a special report, or even a 30-second sound bite. His weapons of choice are not even discussed.

This is the American media's double standard.

It is also a disgusting picture of our nation. It's time for America – including our media – to get real; slicing and dicing babies is not okay.

© Judie Brown