This will be the face of abortion,

[catsittingstill]

if the In Sorrow Shalt Thou Bring Forth Children crowd gets their way.

This way to the back-alley hack performing illegal abortions.

Keep abortion safe and legal.

[Later edit--one of my readers had trouble with my link.  Here is CNN's story on the incident.]

Comments

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

The antis have worked hard to restrict abortion--to make it hard to get, even if they can't make it illegal. Which means women who can't get safe legal abortions are now going to places like this, where they can't get a safe, legal abortion but at least they can get *an* abortion.

And one of the side effects of making abortions hard to get is that getting one takes longer--which is going to push some women into later stages of pregnancy. Somehow I doubt any of the women deliberately put things off so they could have more expensive, more difficult, more dangerous abortions.

But yes, of course many of the patients were well aware their abortion was illegal. Dr Gossner was probably counting on them being afraid to go to the law if they were mistreated.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

"Dr Gossner was probably counting on them being afraid to go to the law if they were mistreated." That is actually where my thoughts were; that he was able to do this so long because the patients knew it was illegal, and so wouldn't report.

I think also that his helpers got blase about how they'd assisted in procedures, and started thinking they could do it all on their own, without medical supervision.

While at the YMCA tonight, I saw on CNN that a Republican Congressman is trying to make it illegal for any federal funding or insurance to go towards any abortion, ever, and is trying to get some kind of inquiry going to see whether Gossner got any federal funding ever, so you are so right about the antis using this for their agenda.

It's too bad the antis don't see that by doing so, they create even more Gossners.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I think also that his helpers got blase about how they'd assisted in procedures, and started thinking they could do it all on their own, without medical supervision.

To the extent that Gossner counted as medical supervision in the first place.

Though in some of the articles it says Gossner instructed them to perform procedures while he wasn't present. The helpers' hubris may have played a role, but apparently didn't come out of nowhere.