Well, I will admit that I put off watching this movie, even though I have had the DVD for a couple of weeks. I guess I was afraid of what my emotional reaction would be to the horrific stories about what Kermit Gosnell did to babies and their mothers. I had watched the coverage at the time, and I read the book written by one of the movie’s producers, you see.
Today, I watched. It was emotional.
The story was beautifully told. The main characters – the prosecutors, the police officers, the women from the clinic who testified and, yes, even Dr. Gosnell and his defense attorney – were expertly portrayed.
I loved the story of the young blogger Molly Mulaney who was instrumental in winning the case against Gosnell. The character is a composite of two real-life journalists. The first, Philadelphia reporter J. D. Mullane, doggedly covered the trial when the national media ignored it. The other is Mollie Hemingway, who extensively covered the story and got a Washington Post health care reporter to admit she wasn’t covering the Gosnell trial, the excuse being that it was a “local crime story”. A key element in the story is the famous photo taken by J.D. Mullane of the empty courtroom that shamed the media into covering this very important and unique case.
Dr. Gosnell’s clinic was disgusting and filthy. Clinic staff performed procedures that they weren’t properly trained to do, such as administering anesthesia. Instruments were used repeatedly without sterilization. In one case, a woman contracted a sexually transmitted disease while undergoing an abortion in the Gosnell clinic. Cats roamed everywhere, defecating and urinating, and nobody cleaned it up.
Some of the clinic is portrayed, but there is no gore nor graphic photos. In the courtroom scenes evidence is discussed, but not shown. The most important piece of evidence is a photo taken of “Baby A” by a clinic staffer. He was close to full terms and born alive. The photo is not shown in the movie, but is available to view on the movie’s website. Without that photo, there is no doubt in my mind that the murder prosecutions would have failed.
The story is told through the main characters. Two of them are Philadelphia cops, Detective James Wood played by Dean Cain, and Detective Stark, portrayed by Alfonzo Rachel. The third primary protagonist is a female prosecutor, a mother of five, named Lexy McGuire, played by Sarah Jane Morris. They were characterized by the prosecution as going after Gosnell because he was an abortionist. In truth, they were sickened and appalled by the murders committed by the doctor, and particularly by the government departments that should have been policing his clinic, but did not because they were ordered not to – abortion must not be hindered. Lexy, for one, put her career on the line because to go after abortionists isn’t done, and any hint of pro-life beliefs a job killer in Pennsylvania state politics.
Dr. Gosnell himself is chillingly portrayed by Earl Billings. His calm demeanor, his belief that he did nothing wrong, his devotion to his cats and turtles which exceeds any emotion he feels for his patients (mothers or babies) is shocking.
After 10 days of deliberation, the jury convicted Dr. Gosnell of one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, and three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies who were born alive then killed by cutting their spinal cords. The jury also convicted Gosnell of 21 felony counts of performing illegal late-term abortions and 211 counts of violating Pennsylvania’s 24-hour consent law.
The judge sentenced Gosnell to three life sentences to be served consecutively with no possibility of parole. Gosnell waived his right to appeal in exchange for an agreement by prosecutors not to seek the death penalty.
The film accurately portrays actual events. The three producers – Phelim McAleer, his wife, Ann McElhinney and Magdalena Segieda – struggled to get this movie made. Not many big people in Hollywood were interested in backing what was considered to be a “pro-life” movie, so they had to work completely outside the usual Hollywood system to get it made, and then shown in theaters. In the end, their financing came through Indiegogo, $2,377,647 USD by 29,743 backers. The trailer:
The budget was small, but the production value is large. I highly recommend that you see this movie.
Stella's Place 
Great review. You really covered it well. I think one of the things that showed how awful the Gosnell clinic was, was the reactions of the seasond police officers as they went through the clinic and then Gosnell’s home. And, something that struck me was when they went to his house and he had a family.
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Then he calmly played Chopin while the police searched his home. It was creepy.
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The whole #$@%&*^% thing was creepy. Gosnell had two things going for him: he’s black and he was doing abortions. Except for the publicity the event received I believe he’d have gotten off with a slap on the wrist and, after a spritz of Lysol at the clinic, would have been right back in business.
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Yes!
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I forgot to mention that Andrew Klavan joined Phelim and Ann to write the script.
I also didn’t mention that I met Ann in 2012, the same day I met Andrew Breitbart. She is smart, funny, and a completely delightful person.
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And Gosnell was directed by Nick Searcy
Great review, thank you. Perhaps I will watch my copy after all.
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Searcy also plays the defense attorney. So realistic that you will just love to hate him.
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Looks like a good movie. Would you say that it is Faith-based?
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It is a documentary. It is a true story. The lead detective is a Roman Catholic, and the prosecutor is a mother of five.
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Thanks for the info!
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You’re welcome.
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🙂
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I’d like to think the prosecution was based on legal items sans any religious involvement…I’d like to.
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The prosecution was for crimes that were committed. Whether or not religion was a factor isn’t legally important. After all, “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the 10 commandments. It is also illegal.
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Part of the strategy of either side is to use religion to sway the jury. A judge should be able to nip it in the bud but the bell’s been rung. Even if there’s no religion brought into the courtroom by the defense/prosecution most jurors still have something from religious training, one way or the other, in their minds.
I see one of the main arguments about abortion being at what point the fetus is considered to be alive/a person. Note that almost always the Jewish, Islamic and various Christian sects’ doctrine on when a fetus is considered to be a being as well as those religions’ doctrinal views on abortion are brought up when the pols/secularists bring up ‘scientific’ concepts of the fetus’ viability. Getting religion out of abortion is like trying to get the ‘wet’ out of water.
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I’m not seeing your point here czar. I agree about prosecution, juries, etc. We prosecute criminals who break the law in this country. Civil law, not our religious beliefs, and I am 100% in agreement of that, even though, as Stella pointed out, many of our laws align with and descend from Judeo/Christian teachings.
However, I don’t follow your thoughts on abortion. I don’t see the country ever passing a law stating that “life begins at” whatever point, although the only sensible answer to that, religious, scientific, common sense, is conception.
Without many Christian groups opposing abortion, even more babies would have been lost. I know you have a point that I am missing here.
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We’re not passing laws – yet – saying when ‘life’ begins, so the definitions generally go back to religious discussions. I think the eventual progressive majority will undoubtedly move to a Aktion 4 scenario where the life becomes a question of ‘quality’ rather than the plain fact of ‘being’. We will see the Abortion Spectrum where abortion will slide smoothly into euthanasia for ‘damaged’ children.
Western law is largely based on religious precepts, we all came out of a history where various religions sects held control and ruled by their doctrine, the law didn’t define morality, religion did and law morphed from that. Now even though Western law is becoming secular you can’t sever its religious roots; it’s getting diluted but it will always be at its base.
The prog movement has to eliminate religion as a belief system and install secular and changeable state doctrine as a substitute. Abortion and euthanasia must cease to exist as individual acts and become part of the act of being for the good of the many. The sick, damaged and elderly become consumers of finite medical resources (the words ‘finite medical resources’ will be used more and more) and eased out of the social equation. Statist doctrine allows that while religious doctrine doesn’t.
We’re looking at abortion from a religious viewpoint, we don’t leave that viewpoint at the door when we go into a courtroom. The State carries in a black and white statist doctrine that carries enough of a thin religious veil to barely disguise its true intent. The power of the progressive state is behind abortion and it’s going to be expanded by the State, the only thing standing in the State’s way is religion, the source of the State’s power – the law. You can’t separate the abortion fight at any level from religion as it’s the only force fighting its continued use and expansion.
It’s rambling but that’s me.
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There was no question that the babies (not fetuses) were alive when they were killed.* Therefore, it was not a case about abortion, but about murder. People of all religions (or none) recognize murder as a crime.
The manslaughter case was also pretty clear – the woman had been given an excessive amount of drugs by an untrained clinic employee.
The other charges were about breaking of clear state laws.
*The babies had been born, were moving and breathing.
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I will admit that I put off watching this movie, even though I have had the DVD for a couple of weeks. I guess I was afraid of what my emotional reaction would be to the horrific stories about what Kermit Gosnell did to babies and their mothers. I had watched the coverage at the time…
I felt the same way as you, stella. My copy is sitting here on my desk, unviewed. I do plan to watch it, with members of our church, but did not go to see it when it was released (although I bought several opening night tickets online to increase the financial impact).
Watching it will be hard, even amongst friends. “Unplanned” will be hard, too.
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I finally watched it because I know that bearing witness is my obligation. Nobody wants to see evil, but the people who put this man away deserve our support.
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