Formal memorial and dedication of permanent marker set for September 25
By Cheryl Sullenger
Philadelphia, PA – Since the trial of convicted murder Kermit Gosnell in May of 2013, Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition has made several attempts to secure the remains for burial of 47 aborted babies discovered at Gosnell’s West Philadelphia “House of Horrors” abortion clinic. For months, those remains had languished in storage in the Coroner’s office.
Each request to bury the babies was denied.
Last week, Mahoney had again sought the release of the remains for burial when he inadvertently discovered that the babies’ bodies had been unceremoniously cremated and buried in an unmarked grave at Laurel Hill Cemetery by the City of Philadelphia on September 12, 2013.
On Wednesday, June 10, Mahoney gathered with about 40 pro-life supporters to place flowers, a temporary marker, and 47 white crosses at the grave site. The group then briefly memorialized the babies that were at the heart of a sensational murder trial that revealed shocking details of shoddy abortions done by untrained, unlicensed staff in squalid conditions at a run-down brick office building located at 3801 Lancaster.
Gosnell and the unlicensed abortionists that worked for him quietly conducted illegal late-term abortions in which it was routine for the babies to be born alive. Gosnell would then stab the babies in the backs of their necks with scissors and sever their spinal cords in a process he referred to as “snipping.”
Gosnell was caught only when authorities raided his clinic, thinking he was operating an illegal pill mill. It was then they discovered the truth behind Gosnell’s macabre abortion business — along with jars lining a shelf that contained the severed limbs of aborted babies.
Steven Massof was one of Gosnell’s unlicensed workers who posed as a doctor and conducted late-term abortions illegally. During Gosnell’s trial, Massof testified that during busy times, the women were given drugs to induce contractions all at once. Massof told the court that “it would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place. . .I felt like a firemen in hell. I couldn’t put out all the fires.”
City officials told reporters they were simply following protocol when they cremated and buried the “unclaimed” remains without notice. However, Mahoney refuted that notion.
“We came for months after months, seeking these children in love. They were not unclaimed. They were wanted, they were desired, they had meaning and purpose. And so even though we are thankful they are not still in the morgue, it is deeply troubling . . . not making this a more public affair,” Mahoney told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Now plans are underway for a formal memorial service set for September 25 during events surrounding Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia. The Pope has even been invited to the service.
The Christian Defense Coalition and Operation Rescue are also raising money for a proper grave marker that will stand as a memorial to the babies who died and a warning to future generations not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“It was a corrupt political climate that created Kermit Gosnell, the murderer. A radical pro-abortion administration encouraged authorities to turn a blind eye to reports of squalor, shoddy abortions, and two patient deaths,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “As a result, Gosnell’s clinic degenerated into the depths of perversity, costing the lives of hundreds of viable babies that the law should have protected as well as the lives of at least two patients. The world need to know the truth about where unrestricted abortion has led us, so we do not allow those horrors to continue.”
Operation Rescue’s Cheryl Sullenger reported extensively from the courtroom during the Gosnell murder trial and gave America a window into the proceedings when no other national media would. Her exclusive reports can be read at OperationRescue.org.
View photos of Gosnell’s victims (Caution: Graphic)
Temporary Memorial Set at Gosnell Babies’ Unmarked Grave Site
