Today we learned of the death of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion provider whose actions led to the deaths of babies born alive and of women entrusted to his care. As the CEO of The Abortion Survivors Network, and as a woman who survived an abortion procedure myself, I cannot ignore the profound human cost behind his name.
For many, Gosnell’s clinic has long symbolized a house of horrors, but for us, it is more than a symbol. It represents real children whose lives were ended after first surviving the trauma of an abortion procedure, women who were impacted, and families who will never be the same. Their dignity, not his notoriety, is what must be remembered most.
Death does not erase accountability, nor does it negate the need for truth.
Gosnell’s legacy is a sober reminder of what happens when vulnerable women and children are viewed as disposable, when oversight fails, and when those who should protect life turn away.
Get the latest pro-life news and information on X (Twitter). Follow @LifeNewsHQ
We owe it to survivors, to women, and to future generations to confront this reality honestly and to insist that every life, born and unborn, is worthy of protection and care.
As people of faith and conscience, we also recognize that every human being, including Kermit Gosnell, is more than the worst things they have done. Today I pray for the mothers and families harmed by his actions, for the children whose lives were taken, and yes, for his soul as he now faces the justice of a God who is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful.
I hope that his passing leads not to hardened hearts, but to deeper reflection, repentance, and a renewed commitment to love both women and their children.
On behalf of The Abortion Survivors Network and the hundreds of survivors and families we serve, I want to be very clear.
What happened in that clinic must never be dismissed as an aberration and then forgotten.
We will continue to advocate, to tell our stories, and to work for a world where no child survives an abortion by accident, because no child is targeted by abortion in the first place—and where every woman is met with real support, not violence disguised as “care.”
LifeNews Note: Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline abortion in 1977, is founder and CEO of the Abortion Survivors Network and author of “You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir.”
