Thread by @RVAdirt

Coming to a Virginia late-term abortion debate near you: Kermit Gosnell as a talking point and example.

The movie they screened at the White House is called “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.” (1/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

theroot.com/trump-to-scree…

Kermit Gosnell did absolutely horrific and reprehensible acts. If you look into his case, be prepared for some graphic content. Gosnell and this movie is an example of material republicans will use to craft extreme messaging. (2/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

nytimes.com/2019/04/12/us/…

The reality of the Gosnell case is that regulators failed to inspect the practice for SEVENTEEN YEARS despite complaints, injuries, and deaths.

Per Wikipedia ⬇️. (3/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

The notion that restricting access to abortion by imposing a subjective moral standard into objective law will address the horrors that occurred at 3801 Lancaster Ave is ignorant to many people’s reality. Obsessing on the moral standard allows for these horrors to exist. (4/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

On November 19, 2009 Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year old woman who was 19 weeks pregnant died of a Demerol overdose during an abortion procedure at Gosnell’s clinic.

Dr. Gosnell was allowed to continue practicing medicine in a low income community primarily women of color. (5/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Mongar was a political refugee from Nepal had been in the U.S. six months. She had been refused care at two other clinics when she sought to have an abortion at Gosnell’s clinic. She sought an abortion because she couldn’t afford a child having just come to the U.S.. (6/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Mongar was given FOUR doses of anesthesia by an unlicensed staff member who had an 8th grade education and a phlebotomy certificate.

Why was this man allowed to serve low income women of color for YEARS? (7/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Gos…

At the time Kermit Gosnell’s practice was shut down, he was not a stranger to regulators. Yet, he had been allowed to continue practicing medicine. Specifically serving a low income community of primarily black, brown, and immigrant women. (8/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Ultimately, Kermit Gosnell was convicted of 1st degree murder in the deaths of 3 infants, involuntary manslaughter in the death of Mongar, 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law in 2013. (9/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Why was he allowed to continue practicing medicine when complaint after complaint was received?

The pro-life talking point will be that the Governor instructed the Dept of Health not to investigate complaints for 17yrs b/c it would threaten a woman’s right to choose. (10/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

But let’s see past the reactionary politics and talk about the underlying reasons that an agency enforcing regulations would threaten a woman’s right to choose. To do that... we have to talk about access. (11/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Mongar went to two clinics before Gosnell’s where she was denied access. I haven’t seen specific information on why she was denied access. Frankly, it could be any number of reasons but at the end of the day, they all push women to less regulated abortion options. (12/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

To parallel in VA, a 2nd trimester abortion must be performed in a hospital. Mongar’s pregnancy was 19 wks. She didn’t die from complications of the abortion procedure. She died b/c an unlicensed person administered a lethal dose of antesthesia. (13/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Gosnell, while in Pennsylvania, what he was allowed to do what a product of a system where regulations failed black and brown women.

Remember, he was only shut down after the DEA raided his clinic. Not b/c of a medical complaint. (14/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

theatlantic.com/health/archive…

Gosnell’s former employees testified they were directed to give white women better office conditions/care.

Women marginalized from access to mainstream abortion system were pushed to Gosnell’s clinic. Black and brown women received subpar care. (15/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

thegrio.com/2013/04/16/rac…

Honestly, I would LOVE to have a productive conversation in Virginia about access to abortion care as a result of a discussion about the Gosnell case. The only way to protect from the extreme scenarios that no one wants (eg Gosnell) is by improving access to abortion. (16/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

We have to find a way past the morality debate b/c reality is that abortion is an issue of women’s healthcare. There is a reason abortions are only performed by medical providers. Pushing abortion outside of mainstream healthcare system makes it vulnerable for abuse. (17/?🧜🏻‍♀️

Can we please have a discussion where we grant uteruses the same autonomy as guns? Keep government regulation out of my decisions on how to use my Weapon of Mass Production (WMP). To do that, abortion has to become part of our healthcare system and not a regulated taboo. (18/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Everyone should be outraged by the acts of Kermit Gosnell but we can’t let the horrors of an abusive system be used as a political pawn by our elected officials. We need real, pragmatic solutions to every day women’s issues. (19/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

I don’t care if you are pro-life or pro-choice. I would hope that we can come together on offering women safe healthcare. I understand you don’t want your dollars to fund someone’s mistakes. But by taking THAT stance it allows men like Kermit Gosnell to stay in business. (20/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

So as we sit here at the beginning of campaign season of the Virginia General Assembly where everyone was recently outraged by Northam’s late term abortion comments.... our political debate is VERY susceptible to having Gosnell used as an extreme example. (21/? 🧜🏻‍♀️

Get educated on the case because the answer is NOT in reactionary politics that restrict abortion access. We need to press our elected officials to use this as an example of a reason to bring abortion access into our mainstream healthcare system. (22/?) 🧜🏻‍♀️

Republicans have a whole lot to say about our racist ass blackface wearing Democratic Governor and the racism of abortions.... but are y’all ready to talk about racism in healthcare as demonstrated by how it marginalizes access to women’s healthcare such as abortions? (23/23) 🧜🏻‍♀️

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