By Cheryl Sullenger
Huntingdon, PA — Kermit Barron Gosnell is an abortionist best known for murdering babies born alive during late-term abortions at a filthy West Philadelphia abortion mill. In 2013, thanks in large part to Operation Rescue’s dogged efforts to bring Gosnell to justice, he was convicted of three counts of First-Degree Murder related to the deaths of three infants, one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in the horrific botched abortion death of Karnamaya Monger, and hundreds of other abortion-related crimes. Gosnell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During his trial, Operation Rescue had staff in the courtroom who published updates from the trial daily. Witnesses testified that Gosnell frequently conducted late-term abortions, which often resulted in viable, healthy babies being born alive. Gosnell would then murder them by stabbing the infants in the back of their necks with scissors then “snipping” their spinal cords. Gosnell’s staff were all unqualified, often troubled people who dangerously sedated pregnant women into stupors while they endured painful labors and participated to various extents in the illegal abortions.
His abortion facility, Women’s Medical Society, earned it the moniker “House of Horrors.” It was a squalid office in a deteriorating building where police discovered frozen remains of aborted babies – some dating back as far as 30 years. But perhaps most horrifically, police discovered severed feet from aborted babies floating in specimen jars that appeared to be kept by Gosnell as trophies. His clinic was permanently closed after his arrest in 2010. (Visit Operation Rescue’s historic Gosnell report archive.)
Transferred
For the past twelve years, Gosnell was incarcerated at SCI Huntington, the oldest facility in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections prison system. It is designated a Close-Security facility that houses “higher risk individuals,” and is one level below the maximum-security designation.
But as of last month, Gosnell has a new home. He has been transferred to another Close-Security facility located not far from his previous accommodation. SCI Smithfield, a smaller and much newer prison, is used to temporarily house new commitments and parole violators until they can be transferred to their permanent prison facility.
Since Gosnell is neither a new commitment nor a parole violator, Operation Rescue contacted SCI Smithfield with questions about why he was transferred there. The Superintendent’s Assistant, Holli Smith, informed Operation Rescue that the facility also permanently houses offenders and noted that there has been no change to his original sentence, which disqualified him from receiving parole. His housing at SCI Smithfield has been designated as “permanent.”
Gosnell is the last of his nine co-defendants to remain incarcerated. (Read about their sentences.)
A mugshot of Gosnell dated August 8, 2025, shows the now 84-year-old man fully gray, bearded, and smiling widely for the camera.
“We can rest assured that Kermit Gosnell will remain behind bars in Pennsylvania for the rest of his natural life where he cannot harm any woman or baby ever again,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Related: Why I Attended the Gosnell Murder Trial and What it Revealed about Abortion in the U.S.
This report may be republished with inclusion of the following acknowledgement: “This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Cheryl Sullenger, is Operation Rescue Sr. Vice President Emeritus.”
