An antiabortion group yesterday urged the Philadelphia district attorney to investigate whether disgraced abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell violated a law that requires physicians to report suspected child abuse. The Pro-Life Union of Southeastern Pennsylvania also questioned whether Gosnell failed to submit fetal remains of second-trimester abortions for a pathologist's examination, as required by state law.
The license-suspension order, issued by the state Board of Medicine, cited "deplorable and unsanitary" conditions at the clinic, including bloody floors and fetal body parts in jars. Public records show Gosnell paid $10,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the parents of a minor who did not consent to her abortion, as required by state law. Those records suggest Gosnell did not report pregnancies in girls under 16 to child-welfare authorities. The reports are mandated because such pregnancies can be considered evidence of rape or statutory rape.
Gosnell has not been formally charged by any agency, but he is under investigation by federal authorities for possible illegal distribution of prescription painkillers. The medical board has alleged that one of Gosnell's workers was practicing medicine without a license, and that a patient died in November after receiving repeated doses of prescription painkillers from the worker. Since 1981, Gosnell has been sued 46 times, including 10 malpractice suits. In one case, the patient died. Philadelphia Inquirer
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