Grand jury faults state regulators for not stopping abortion doctor charged with murders

Among the many questions raised by the grisly charges against West Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, one stands out: How did this go on so long?

Indeed, almost a third of the 260-page report released Wednesday by a Philadelphia grand jury is devoted to that question.

The answer that the jury offers amounts to a scathing denunciation of state regulatory officials and, to a much lesser degree, the city's public health department.

Gosnell, 69, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the deaths of a patient, as well as seven babies born alive and then allegedly killed in the sixth, seventh, and eighth months of pregnancies. Gosnell's wife and eight employees were also arrested, and four of the workers also face murder charges.

The grand jury concluded that, for more than two decades, "government health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell's dangerous practices. No action was taken, even after the agencies learned that women had died during routine abortions under Gosnell's care."

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for newly installed Gov. Corbett, said, "The Corbett administration will review the allegations contained in the grand jury's report regarding deficiencies in oversight by both the department of state and the department of health and make it a priority to address those deficiencies."

"This," Harley added, "has to do with enforcing regulations and the law."

Gosnell, who is not trained as an obstetrician-gynecologist, opened his abortion clinic on Lancaster Avenue in 1979, following an on-site review by inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Pennsylvania law requires only an initial inspection of abortion clinics. The frequency of follow-up inspections, the jury was told, has varied from annual to sporadic depending on the abortion stance of the governor.

Other testimony and evidence revealed that:

Gosnell's clinic was reinspected in 1989, 1992, and 1993. Each time, deficiencies were found, including no nurses overseeing the recovery room, missing lab work, no obstetrician-gynecologist on staff, and out-of-date medication. Yet each time, state evaluators reapproved the clinic without requiring or verifying corrective actions.