Kermit Gosnell's Trial in Abortion Killings Is Grisly — And Ignored by Media

The accusations against Pennsylvania abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell are grisly — claims that he beheaded infants, kept severed baby feet in jars, and overdosed patients — and most definitely headline-worthy, so why have the mainstream media been all but silent since his trial began last month?

Kermit, 72, is charged in the drug overdose death of a 41-year-old patient, and the deaths of seven babies allegedly born alive at his West Philadelphia clinic. His capital murder trial began last month, with graphic testimony from former employees who claim Gosnell regularly "snipped the spinal cords of babies" and performed abortions well past the state's 24-week legal limit.

The grand jury report calls Gosnell's business a "filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels — and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths."

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Gosnell's clinic was raided in 2010, so why has most of America not heard about this before?

Because it's all politics, says USA Today's Kirsten Powers.

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

None of the news shows on the three major national television networks has mentioned the Gosnell trial in the last three months, a Lexis-Nexis search reveals. The Washington Post has not published original reporting, and the New York Times ran just one story on page A-17 on the trial's first day but has since been silent, despite riveting testimony.

"Let me state the obvious," Powers writes. "This should be front page news."

Twitter users, including celebrities, noticed the silence as well and spoke out against it.

There was more coverage of Manti Teo's imaginary girlfriend than on Gosnell murder trial.

— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) April 11, 2013

If Kermit Gosnell had killed puppies, HLN would give daily wall to wall coverage of the full trial.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) April 11, 2013

@nytimesdoesn't even try to pretend anymore. Time to cancel subscription. #Gosnell trial ignored.

— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) April 11, 2013

Politco ran 94 stories on Komen. 233 on Fluke. 866 on Todd Akin. Gosnell? Still zero. @dylanbyers

— Mollie Z. Hemingway (@MZHemingway) April 12, 2013

GIs putting underpants on terrorist's head: Auschwitz II. Mountain of dead babies in Philly: <crickets> #mediaethics

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) April 11, 2013

One Twitter user called out the Post's health policy writer, Sarah Kliff, for not reporting on the Gosnell trial, to which Kliff responded that she doesn’t cover "local crime."

@mzhemingway Hi Molly - I cover policy for the Washington Post, not local crime, hence why I wrote about all the policy issues you mention.

— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) April 11, 2013

Kliff's comment then kicked off a flurry of tweets doubting the "local crime" excuse.

Trayvon Martin? Local crime story.

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) April 11, 2013

O.J. Simpson? Local crime story.

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) April 11, 2013

.@jimgeraghty Newtown. Local crime story?

— Kemberlee Kaye (@red_red_head) April 11, 2013

Hell, I guess technically Benghazi was a "local crime story"

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) April 11, 2013

The point is that a lot of "local crime stories" become big national stories. You'd think Doctor Baby-in-a-Blender would make the cut.

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) April 11, 2013

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