People watching the Kermit Gosnell trial reportedly broke down in tears Tuesday as the jury heard testimony about a 41-year-old refugee who died in his squalid abortion clinic.
Gosnell, who allegedly "snipped" the spinal cords of newborns, is also charged with third-degree murder in the death of Karnamaya Mongar. She died from an overdose of the painkiller Demerol administered by his untrained employees.
During the trial Tuesday, Mongar's daughter testified the 41-year-old went to Gosnell after clinics in her home state of Virginia turned her down because she was already 16 weeks pregnant, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
One clinic in nearby Washington, D.C. told her Gosnell could help her at his "Women's Medical Society" clinic.
Gosnell, who's black and grew up in West Philly, catered to a largely immigrant, low-income, and minority population of women, many of whom sought abortions after the first trimester.
He's accused of giving women abortions in utterly deplorable conditions, except on the rare occasion when a white, suburban woman came in for an abortion, according to a grand jury report. In those cases, Gosnell allegedly oversaw every step of their treatment and had them wait in the only clean office at his squalid clinic.
"That's the way of the world," Gosnell allegedly told one young worker who asked why white women got different treatment.
Mongar, who came to the United States to escape war-torn Bhutan in Asia, was "not one of the privileged patients," according to the grand jury report. Gosnell often wasn't present when his poor patients got heavy painkillers.
He allegedly wasn't there when Mongar came into his clinic, where women allegedly had to wait on dirty recliners and were wrapped in blood-stained blankets.
Office workers allegedly began doping Mongar with Demerol right away and failed to keep track of how much they were giving her.
After a few hours, she just stopped breathing. Gosnell was called in but allegedly couldn't use his broken defibrillator to restart her heart. Clinic staff finally called the paramedics, the report said, but Mongar was likely brain-dead by the time they got there.
Gosnell used the painkiller Demerol, which can be dangerous in high doses, because it was cheap, the grand jury report stated. He's accused of cutting many corners at his clinic while making millions and millions of dollars there.
