Pro-choice abortion campaigners should be wary of truth, warn two Irish filmmakers

Two Irish filmmakers who made a feature about a notorious American abortion doctor have warned pro-choice campaigners in Ireland who want to demystify abortion in Ireland that they should be careful what they wish for.

Phelim McAleer (pictured above) and Ann McElhinney wrote in the Irish Times this week that although they previously agreed with abortion as a fact of life, their experience making a film and a book about Kermit Gosnell - who was convicted in Philadelphia in 2013 of murdering three children and the manslaughter of one other after a 38-year career as an abortion doctor - has turned those feelings negative.

They described how during Gosnell’s trial the jury gasped in horror as it was explained how he aborted late-term babies. The trial was told how Gosnell would inject poison into a baby’s heart to stop it beating before pulling it out - sometimes a piece at a time.

Other times, if a baby was still breathing when it was aborted, the standard practice was to give it “comfort care”, which was essentially wrapping it in a blanket until it died.

The trial was also shocked when it heard from what was described as a “good abortionist” who matter-of-factly claimed to have carried out 40,000 abortions in his career.

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“Those seeking to remove the constitution ban on abortion believe the best way to do it is to bring it out of the shadows in the hope that when people hear the details, they will support the liberalisation of abortion in Ireland,” the two journalists wrote for the Irish Times.

“Two years ago, we might have agreed with them. But our experience of the Gosnell case is that anyone who has learned more about the reality of abortion – the pulling apart of the foetus, the injecting of poison into the heart, the “comfort care” – has come away with only negative feelings about the procedure.

“It may be a case of be careful what you wish for.”

The two filmmakers who are based in Los Angeles said that a Philadelphia journalist JD Mullane, who interviewed many of the key players, said that the trial changed many minds and shook assumptions.

“Almost everyone . . . who spent significant time at the Gosnell trial was less pro-choice at the end. This change was probably because they were for the first time hearing about the reality of abortion from experts under oath,” Mullane said.

“They had to tell the truth and they had to tell it in detail,” he added.

The film, which the pair finished shooting last month, was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign, and stars Dean Cain best known for his role as Superman on TV.