Fifth Abortion Clinic Worker Pleads Guilty to Murder

(WNS)--Facing up to 200 years in prison, a former employee of a West Philadelphia abortion clinic pleaded guilty Wed., Nov. 9, to two counts of murder in exchange for a lesser sentence and her testimony against her boss, Kermit Gosnell.

Lynda Williams, 43, admitted killing a viable newborn baby with a pair of scissors and participating in an abortion that ended with an adult woman being drugged to death in 2009. Williams is the fifth person to plead guilty out of 10 employees charged.

Maria Vitale, education director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, said the ongoing court cases against the clinic workers are adding fuel to SB 732, a state bill seeking to impose regulations on abortion clinics statewide that was drafted in response to the conditions federal drug agents found at Gosnell’s clinic during a raid last year.

“What is actually going on at these abortion centers? The problem is in Pennsylvania, they were not being inspected,” she said, noting Gosnell’s clinic was not inspected for 17 years. “Kind of unbelievably, the abortion industry has been fighting this. You’d think once problems were detected, they’d welcome legislation to crack down on these centers, but they’ve been fighting this tooth and nail. It just makes you wonder if they’re really concerned about women’s health.”

Federal agents got involved when word spread that Gosnell was distributing prescription drugs illegally through his clinic. SB 732 has passed the state Senate; it’s now pending in the House of Representatives, and Vitale said legislators hope to have it on the governor’s desk by the end of the year.