By Abortion911.com Staff
Pennsylvania late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell was responsible for the death of Karnamaya Mongar and was charged with manslaughter by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. He was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Mongar’s death and hundreds more counts, including three First Degree Murder convictions for killing viable babies born alive during his horrifically dangerous abortions.
But before Mongar’s death, Gosnell was also responsible for killing Semika Shirelle Shaw in 2000. She died from a perforated uterus sustained during one of Gosnell’s shoddy abortion procedures.
Cheryl Sullenger attended Gosnell’s murder trial in Philadelphia in the spring of 2013, and later penned a book about it called The Trial of Kermit Gosnell. Here is an excerpt from that book that tells Shaw’s story.
But Mongar’s death wasn’t the first maternal death for Gosnell and company. Reports began circulating of a young African-American woman named Semika Shirelle Shaw, 22, who died from an abortion done by Gosnell in March 2000. Gosnell had torn a hole in her uterus during the abortion, but neglected to tell her about it or repair it.
This kind of injury is called a uterine perforation. It is a life-threatening condition that most abortion clinics simply are not equipped to handle. Usually, women suffering uterine perforations are rushed to nearby hospitals where the hemorrhaging can be stopped and the tear repaired. Sometimes, the injuries can be so severe that emergency hysterectomies are required to save the women’s lives.
But in Semika’s case, Gosnell called no ambulance. In fact, according to civil court records, he sent Semika home as if nothing had gone wrong. Semika called Gosnell’s office the following day complaining of pain and heavy bleeding, but no one told her to get checked either at Gosnell’s clinic or the hospital.
One can hardly imagine the pain and suffering she endured during the final hours of her life as a raging infection known as sepsis coursed through her body. Two days after Gosnell perforated her uterus, Semika was dead. She left two children motherless.
A lawsuit filed by her surviving family was settled two years later. Professional Underwriters Liability Insurance Company paid a $400,000 to Semika’s surviving family. The settlement amount was reported to the medical board, but a decision was made not to investigate, even though they were made aware of details concerning dirty conditions and substandard practices at Gosnell’s facility. It was easier to turn a blind eye, when it came to reports – even well-substantiated ones – of abortion abuses.
Later, Semika’s cousin, Pennsylvania State Rep. Margo Davidson, stood in support of 2011’s HB 574, legislation that would require abortion clinics to meet the same safety standards as ambulatory surgical facilities. In addressing her support for the bill, an emotional Davidson noted that she believed she was the only member of the Pennsylvania House that had been personally touched by Gosnell. Choking back tears, Davidson eulogized Semika on the State House Floor:
Today, I honor her memory by voting yes on this legislation, that seeks to safeguard the health of women, that is long overdue, so that never again will a woman walk into a licensed health care facility in the State of Pennsylvania and be butchered as she was–with her uterus perforated and her death of sepsis and infection, permeating in her body, till she writhed in pain on the floor of her home, to her ultimate death.
Sadly, Rep. Davidson was the only African American to vote in favor that bill that could have saved her young cousin’s life, as well as the life of Karnamaya Mongar. With Davidson’s help the bill was approved, and sent on to the Senate, where it also passed. In a fitting Christmas present to women and babies, it was signed into law on December 22, 2011.
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Below is a video excerpt from the film “2801 Lancaster” that shows Shaw’s aunt, Pennsylvania State Rep. Margo Davidson, standing on the floor of the Pennsylvania House sharing her emotional and powerful story about her neice’s death.
3801 Lancaster: Rep. Margo Davidson from 3801Lancaster on Vimeo.
For more about Shaw and the Gosnell murder trial, visit OperationRescue.org.
