Judge Reinstates One Murder Charge Against Gosnell, Drops Another

Judge Jeffrey Minehart reinstated one of the three dropped murder charges against abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell in relation to “Baby C.” At the same time, he decided there was not enough evidence for the charge related to “Baby F” and dropped that murder charge instead.

Former Gosnell employee Kareema Cross told the grand jury her coworker Lynda Williams cut the baby’s neck when Gosnell was not present. “Baby C” was moving and breathing for twenty minutes and that the baby recoiled from Williams’ touch when she tried to take the baby’s hand. Cross said she saw Williams flip the baby over and cut its neck.

Williams told the grand jury it was “standard practice” to cut the spines to make sure the baby was dead.

Minehart is throwing out the charges for “Baby F.” Steven Massof, an unlicensed medical graduate student, told the grand jury “Baby F” jerked and moved its leg. A neonatology expert told the grand jury “about the significance of movement in determining gestational age, and explained that the muscle tone and neurological development for a baby to pull back a limb exist ‘definitely in the bigger preemies like above, you know, 25, 26, 27 weekers.'” 

Gosnell then cut the baby’s spine, despite the fact that it is illegal to perform an abortion after 24 weeks.

Gosnell’s defense insists no babies were born alive because he gave them Digoxin. But Cross said the heart medication just slowed down the heart, not stopped it. She said she saw the doctor only give it twice and in those instances it did not work. When asked if the heartbeat was slow, she lied to Gosnell and said yes even though the heartbeat was normal. Toxicology reports show no trace of the drugs found in the babies.

Gosnell still faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder in relation to the death of patient Karnamaya Mongar.