A case that once shocked the nation has resurfaced following the death of the man at its center.
According to the New York Post, Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia doctor convicted of killing infants born alive, died March 1 at the age of 85, per the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
Officials said he passed away at a hospital outside the prison system. A cause of death has not been released.
He had most recently been held at the State Correctional Institution-Smithfield, located south of Pittsburgh.
Gosnell’s crimes came to light after a 2010 investigation into prescription drug trafficking led authorities to his clinic, uncovering what prosecutors later described as deeply disturbing practices.
During his 2013 trial, former staff members testified that Gosnell regularly performed illegal abortions beyond the state’s 24-week limit.
They said some babies were delivered alive — “still moving, whimpering or breathing” — before being killed. Gosnell referred to the act as “snipping” their spines, according to testimony.
Investigators also detailed shocking conditions inside the clinic. They described a foul-smelling environment with bloodstained furniture, unsanitary instruments, and containers holding fetal remains and body parts.
A 2011 grand jury report labeled the facility a “baby charnel house” and suggested the number of newborn deaths could be in the “hundreds,” while noting that many cases could not be prosecuted because records had been destroyed.
The report further stated that Gosnell was not board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and often left patients unattended for long periods.
“Gosnell routinely cracked jokes about babies whose necks he had just slit,” the grand jury found. “He treated his patients with condescension — slapping them, providing abysmal care, and often refusing even to see or talk to them — unless they were Caucasian, or had money.”
Authorities also criticized state oversight failures, noting that abortion clinics had gone without routine inspections for years due to what the grand jury described as “political reasons.”
“With the change of administration [in 1995] from Governor [Bob] Casey [a pro-life Democrat] to Governor [Tom] Ridge [a pro-choice Republican], officials concluded that inspections would be ‘putting a barrier up to women’ seeking abortions,” the report read. “Better to leave clinics to do as they pleased, even though, as Gosnell proved, that meant both women and babies would pay.”
Following the scandal, Pennsylvania implemented stricter regulations, and two top state health officials were removed from their positions.
In addition to his state convictions, Gosnell pleaded guilty to multiple federal drug charges, including conspiracy and the illegal distribution of controlled substances. He admitted to writing fraudulent prescriptions and distributing more than 1.4 million doses of drugs, including Percocet, OxyContin, and Xanax.
He remained in prison until his death.
