Infanticide

Legally, there is a difference between when Gosnell killed babies with a scissors, and when he simply let them die of neglect. The first was murder, with no statute of limitations. The second was infanticide -- just letting the baby die.

This isn't rare or unheard-of.

[|Jill Stanek] rose to national prominence when she exposed the practice of live-birth abortions at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The babies would be delivered, then wrapped in a towel and stuck in a utility closet to die, alone.

[|**"Abortion or Infanticide"**] Dr. Joseph Melnick faced controversy after abortion on 13-year-old results in live birth.

[|**"Baby Hope Continued"**] Mona Charon brings us a closer view of the events surrounding the abortion death of Baby Hope.

[|**The Ultimate Complication**] Ximena Renaerts is quadriplegic, has cerebral palsy, and has the mental age of a three-year-old. Ximena was born following a failed abortion and left unattended in a utility closet for over an hour until a nurse defied orders to just let her die.

[|**Baby Hope**] An infant who lived for three hours after being aborted touched the heart of a nurse. 


 * Dr. Ronald Bolognese** performed abortions at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He stated in November 1974 that live births in late abortions were addressed thus: "it has been our policy to wrap the fetus in a towel. The fetus is then moved to another room while our attention is turned to the care of [the woman]. ... Once we are sure that her condition is stable, the fetus is evaluated. Almost invariably all signs of life have ceased." In a 1979 interview, Bolognese stated, "That's not what we do now. We would transport it to the intensive care nursery." (//Philadelphia Inquirer 8-2-81//)


 * Dr. Joseph Melnick** was convicted of infanticide and unlawful abortion after the death of 32-week infant girl (3 lb, 9 oz) born during an abortion Melnick performed on a 13-year-old girl at what was then West Park Hospital, Philadelphia, in 1984. The nursing supervisor testified that "Baby Girl Smith" showed signs of life and gasped and moaned following the abortion, others in room pointed out infant's condition and requested that Melnick aid the infant. The nursing supervisor attempted CPR on the baby, detecting a heartbeat. She found a death certificate filled out by Melnick stating that the infant was stillborn. She tore up the death certificate, whereupon Mewlnick filled out a birth certificate for the infant. Another doctor ordered resuscitation, but the baby died after 90 minutes. Melnick indicated on medical records that he observed "agonal breathing" in the infant, which he defined for the judge as "It's the last effort a human being makes to sustain life." After the judge asked him three times he admitted that agonal breathing would not be observed in a stillborn infant. An autopsy found that the infant had a full head of hair, and skin typical of a term infant. Melnick allegedly admitted, "After the fact, it occurred to me that I had miscalculated." He also admitted that when the patient insisted that she was four months pregnant, Melnick noted the size of the infant and told her "if that's true, your baby would have been 18 pounds at birth." Melnick's defense claimed that the prosecution was based on "frustration raised over the abortion issue" rather than the evidence, and that a conviction would have "chilling effect" on other doctors' willinglness to perform abortions. (//LA Times Magazine// 1-7-90; //Houston Chronicle// 6-13-89; United Press International 10-3-84; Associated Press 3-16-89, 5-13-89, 6-12-89, 12-20-89)