Philadelphia Abortion Arrests – What The Media Missed

With this week’s arrest of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the truly gruesome allegations about the conditions and procedures at the Philadelphia abortion clinic he operated, the media has been forced to navigate coverage of a polarizing and inherently politicized topic.

Some outlets and writers, like the Associated Press’ superlative David Crary, used the story to examine late-term providers nationally; how they are regulated, and what the availability of care is. But most ran with disturbing and salacious lines, like the local Fox affiliate’s web coverage, entitled, “Doctor Allegedly Killed Babies With Scissors.”

What is alleged to have happened is unspeakable. However, amid the manic energy that surrounds the abortion debate in our country, the media missed a key part of this story: access to care.

Gosnell’s clinic, the Women’s Medical Society, operated in West Philadelphia, and its clients were mostly poor and immigrant women, especially women of color. Despite 10 malpractice suits, decades of complaints against the clinic from both patients and fellow providers, and at least one patient’s death, the clinic had not been inspected since 1993 – until drug investigators got involved after being tipped off that the clinic was selling illegal prescriptions.

Media outlets as weighty as The Atlantic rounded up coverage of the case, attempting to balance both sides of the choice debate carefully. Missing from their coverage: the story of access to quality care.

Clearly Dr. Gosnell, who was not a board-certified OB/GYN, who employed no nurses or anesthetists at the clinic, and who is alleged to have used an employee’s 15 year-old daughter to administer anesthesia, ran a frightening, filthy clinic with cat litter boxes in patient rooms, and blood and urine stains everywhere, according to the Grand Jury Report.

What kind of situation would any woman have to be in, if she found herself at the Women’s Medical Society and did not immediately seek care elsewhere?

Why does our civic apparatus have the will and ability to respond to illegal drug complaints in a timely way but is unable to monitor health care quality?

As Maryclaire Dale and Patrick Waters wrote for the Associated Press,

“The grand jury suggested the state knew Gosnell and his clinic were offering unacceptable medical care; its report said race, socioeconomic status and politics were among the reasons why no action was taken.

‘We think the reason no one acted is because the women in question were poor and of color…” the report said.’….

White women from the suburbs were ushered into a separate, slightly cleaner area because Gosnell believed they were more likely to file complaints.”

[caption id="attachment_10549" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dr. Kermit Gosnell,

West 47th Street: Four People You’ve Tried Not to Notice

Jennifer De Jesus is a student in the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter and an avid movie watcher. She is also an employee of the Health Professions Education Center, which has one of the largest collection of health films in the New York City area.

In the 1960s many federal mental institutions were closed, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness ending up on the streets. This film centers around a community in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen called Fountain House, the home of people suffering from mental illnesses. Since 1948, Fountain House has been dedicated to the recovery of men and women with mental illness by providing opportunities for members to live, work, and learn, while contributing their talents through a community of mutual support. Their goal is to eliminate the stigma against those with mental illness.

One of the people profiled in this film is Zeinab Wali, a homeless woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. Once in Fountain House, her eager-to-work attitude quickly dispels any misconception that people are homeless because of lethargic reasons.

Currently there are multiple problems, which existing policies do not address nor solve. For example, a common rule in shelters is the lack of storage; no possessions can be left during the daytime. However, a large percentage of the homeless are actually families with children and denying them storage would be limiting them to what they can carry, therefore depriving them of essentials like clean clothing.

Programs such as “Advantage”, a rental subsidy that helps people transition from temporary shelter to self-sufficiency, still have many flaws. Even within the New York City Department of Homeless Service, there is confusion about policies, which results in officials giving out false information. In a recent report conducted by New York City Comptroller, John Liu, it was found that “Advantage” leads to an increased amount of “side deals”; when people in homeless shelters agree to pay additional amounts to landlords “under the table” and “off the record” to ensure they can obtain an apartment and get out of the horrific conditions in the shelter. Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond disputed some of the audit findings and defended itself and its record stating that,. “Over 20,000 Advantage leases have been signed allowing New Yorkers to move from shelter to homes.”

Over half of homeless women are victims of domestic violence and the majority of homeless people are minorities—obviously there are more aspects involved in homelessness than high rent prices. New York City needs to create more shelters and provide better preventative care to families as well as individuals to avoid this issue in the first place. This could be achieved by funding more places like the Fountain House, which change lives daily by integrating the homeless back into society.

As the title of this film suggests, it is time to not only notice but to act.

Jennifer De Jesus is a student in