Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murdering newborns dies in prison

Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murdering three infants born alive at his illegal late-term abortion clinic, has died at age 85 at a Pennsylvania prison. 

His cause of death was not released. Journalist Phelim McAleer broke the news March 23, citing prison and law enforcement sources who said Gosnell had died approximately two weeks earlier at State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon. Gosnell’s death had gone unreported in the interim.

​​Gosnell was convicted in 2013 of three counts of first-degree murder for killing infants — identified in court as Baby A, Baby C, and Baby D — who survived his abortion attempts and were born alive. He killed them by severing their spinal cords with scissors. He was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old Bhutanese refugee who died of an anesthesia overdose during a botched abortion at his clinic. Gosnell was serving three consecutive life sentences without parole, plus 30 additional years after a separate federal conviction for illegally distributing painkillers. 

Investigators and prosecutors believed Gosnell killed thousands of babies over his 30-year practice, according to McAleer’s report, though he was only formally charged for seven deaths. A 2010 raid on his West Philadelphia clinic uncovered blood-splattered procedure rooms, rusty instruments, expired medications, flea-infested animals, and improperly stored fetal remains.

Ann McElhinney, who co-authored the book Gosnell: The Untold Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer and reported extensively on the case, said, "Gosnell is gone, but we should take time to think of the thousands of innocent babies who were his victims."

Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, pointed to broader systemic failures that allowed Gosnell to operate for decades, pointing to public officials who “allowed his House of Horrors abortion facility to operate for years without being inspected."