Movie tells ignored story of biggest serial killer in U.S.
nell’s career in infanticide.
The movie’s makers tried to raise money on a crowdfunding website that balked at graphic — meaning accurate — descriptions of the subject, because “we are a broad website used by millions of people.” HowWASHINGTON — A word can ever, a pluckier site gathbe worth a thousand pic- ered $2.4 million from tures. In the movie “Gosnell: 30,000 contributors. The Trial of America’s Big- Almost all regular critgest Serial Killer,” the mild ics of movies were offered word “snip” describes what copies of the movie. A the camera, demonstrating major film will receive the eloquence of reticence, about 270 media reviews, does not show in gory detail: according to Mark Joseph, Kermit Gosnell’s use ofscis- CEO of MJM Entertainsors to cut the spinal cords ment Group. “Gosnell” of hundreds of babies that received 12, even though survived his late-term abor- in the October week it tion procedures. was released it was the
Directed by actor Nick top grossing indepenSearcy (“Three Billdent film and cracked the boards Outside Ebbing, top 10 of all films in theMissouri,” “The Shape aters. The critics’ boycott of Water”), this gripof the film continued the ping true-crime courtjournalists’ indifference room drama, with diatoward Gosnell’s trial. logue taken from court As the prosecutranscripts and police tors drove to the courtrecords, made it onto house in 2013 for the 670 screens, and earned first day of Gosnell’s trial nearly $4 million, and on eight counts of mursoon will be available in der (a woman who died DVD format through Netfollowing an abortion flix. procedure, and seven
This, in spite of impedsnipped babies) and 24 iments from portions of felony counts of abortion America’s cultural appabeyond Pennsylvania’s ratus that are reflexively 24-week limit, they antichostile to examining Gosipated a difficult maelstrom of media attention. They encountered something worse: virtually no attention. In spite of — actually, because of — its gruesome substance, the two-month trial, which ended with Gosnell sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, was not covered until, by their
FROM THE RIGHT
example, a few journalists — especially USA Today’s Kirsten Powers — embarrassed others into paying attention.
If Gosnell’s victims had been middle class instead of inner-city minorities, there surely would have been more interest in an abortion facility where babies were heard crying, and where a woman victim of Gosnell’s slapdash procedures went home with an arm and a leg of her baby still in her. According to grand jury testimony, early in Gosnell’s career of carnage he used a medical device lacking federal approval, “basically plastic razors that were formed into a ball”:
“They were coated into a gel, so that they would remain closed. These would be inserted into the woman’s uterus. And after several hours of body temperature ... the gel would melt and these 97 things would spring open, supposedly cutting up the fetus, and the fetus would be expelled.”
No one knows how many — certainly hundreds, probably thousands — spinal cords Gosnell snipped before the 2010 raid on his “clinic.” Law enforcement came looking for illegal drugs. They also found jars of babies’ feet, fetal remains in toilets and milk cartons, and a pervasive smell of cat feces — in a facility that had not been inspected for 17 years.