3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy (2015) User Reviews

Questionable Motive for the Filmmakers?

[AaronWidera · 5/10 · 3 December 2016]

Viewers are sure to be engrossed by this documentary detailing the horrific case of one Dr. Gosnell. The documentary does an excellent job of keeping you in suspense, methodically doling out details to keep you wondering what exactly made this abortion clinic stand out from others. Quite early on, the filmmaker speaks with Dr. Gosnell on the phone, and he explains who he is, and why, despite his Christian beliefs, he believes his actions are defensible based on his interpretation of the bible.

As we learn more about what Dr. Gosnell actually did, we learn there is a huge disconnect between what he was accused of and what he felt was permissible as a "Christian" to do when it comes to terminating a pregnancy. The documentary's huge first failing is to not ask him about these contradictions. SPOILER: It would seem obvious if you manage to talk to him on the phone, you would ask him what medical necessity required him to keep the feet of fetuses/babies in jars. And that's just the most obvious question they could have asked him.

The other huge problem with this film made me question the motive for this film. The end of the film expands the scope to include gross misconduct at a Planned Parenthood in Delaware. While at first I was willing to go with this direction, it became problematic. They interview several nurses who worked at this Planned Parenthood, who say they are pro-choice. Fine. Perhaps the filmmaker's point was that refusing to oversee abortion clinics can lead to problems even at a well established and funded facility such as Planned Parenthood, and not just a gross "hole in the wall" abortion clinic such as Gosnell's. But the actions at this Planned Parenthood, while despicable, do not come close to the actions of the psychotic butcher at 3801 Lancaster. It creates somewhat of a false equivalency, as if all abortion clinics are just looking to cut corners and do as many abortions as quickly as possible. And then it mentions how Planned Parenthood is fighting legislation that would force them to have the same standards as a hospital in states such as Virginia and Texas, as if the whole organization was trying to shirk their responsibilities as a provider of medical services. Anyone who does a cursory investigation into the Texas legislation will find that there is much more to the legislation than just keeping the clinic sanitary. The law is so restrictive that you couldn't possibly operate a clinic outside of a hospital setting (and guess what, you can't perform abortions at a hospital). To misrepresent the Texas legislation in this manner makes one question the filmmaker's intent. If you want to make a pro-life film, that's fine. Just be honest and upfront about the film you're making.

A devastating slam-dunk of a documentary

[killercharm · 7/10 · 23 April 2020]

All about a doctor who ranks right up there (right down there) with Bundy, Gacy and Dahmer. Dr. Kermit Gosnell opened the Philadelphia Women's Medical Society wherein he gave women abortions in appalling squalor. Nothing was ever cleaned, including his hands. Women left that place with infections, bruises, STDs they didn't walk in with and it gets worse. This story is so well told it grabs you and holds you right from the beginning.

"Greed and craziness," or "Was I supposed to have another kid?"

[evening1 · 6/10 · 8 May 2022]

As this interesting documentary tells it, Dr. Gosnell never sought out the late-in-pregnancy abortion market.

"People came to me, pleading for intervention."

Unfortunately, in the words of Philly's DA, there was "more oversight of hair salons than abortion clinics in Pennsylvania."

Gosnell notes that his reading of the Bible tells him life "does not happen until breath."

Sometimes one hears reference to abortion after birth, and this film leaves little doubt as to what that really can entail.

As a cop here says, "I didn't think they would look as human as they were." Indeed, the tiny frozen forms have fingers and toes and resemble little plastic sculptures, a tragedy to behold.

"Many have asked, then why was the snipping necessary?"-- "The pain and suffering just before death can often be severe."

Oh, I see. Then these were mercy killings?

"The coroner could not determine viability, or the lack thereof, because the 47 fetuses had been frozen." One is left to wonder why.

"...And no one did a damned thing about it...Nobody did anything because these were poor women, and the babies had no identities."

All we can do is pray...

This is not a documentary. It's a sanctimonious soapbox.

[Priapost · 9 June 2020]

While watching this, I was waiting for a yard full of buried people or disabled patients. It slowly steered towards abortion in a filthy clinic. Soon, the movie devolves into an attack on women's bodily autonomy and right to self-determination. This is disingenuous at best. I see it as an old-fashioned snowjob. Skip it.

Ignore the negative reviews and decide for yourself. See what they don't want you to see.

[skyking-14 · 7/10 · 26 August 2018]

First off, I've read the negative reviews. I can only wonder how many of those "reviewers" are actually abortion apologists who never even bothered to watch the documentary. They don't want you to know this. Another film has been in production for several years and will be released this fall and extraordinary steps have been taken to try to stop it from coming out. By the end of the documentary, it had become very evident that most, if not all of the negative reviews were lies.

Anti-abortion propaganda? If reporting the facts of this case leads one to feel like it's anti-abortion, then perhaps abortion is something to be opposed! To an honest observer, the focus here was clearly on the doctor, and the failures at the local and state level, that allowed this to continue. This man practiced for 17 years without a single inspection of his clinic because the state officials made a policy decision that abortion clinics were not to be inspected unless a complaint was filed, then they failed to inspect even when complaints WERE filed... not even when patient deaths were reported!

Does this happen in every clinic? Probably not. But it happened here, and it probably is happening elsewhere. We don't know because political pressure from Pro-abortion advocates has worked hard to prevent us from finding out. So-called "Pro-Choice" advocates have consistently opposed any attempt to require fully informed consent, including alternatives, physical and psychological risks, future infertility etc. They have opposed parental notification, despite the fact that uninformed parents of minors will be liable for any costs associated with adverse results! They oppose notification of the father. They oppose imposition of the same minimum health standards currently required for hair cuts and ear piercing! Yeah, they want abortion to be "safe and legal"... well, at least legal. Unfortunately, legalizing abortion didn't get rid of back alley abortionists, it just legalized them.

This case happened because of a political culture that puts protecting abortion above protecting women. THAT is the reality. Reporting truth is always propaganda, in the eyes of those who rely on hiding the truth to maintain their power.

Watch it and decide for yourself.

Went in completely blind...

[jfaith-81509 · 3/10 · 1 May 2019]

I love documentaries and had never heard of this one before and had no idea what it was about when I turned it on. I appreciated the story telling in the beginning of the movie and found Dr. Gosnell's practice to be atrocious. I think it's more a failure of the Pennsylvania department of health not doing their job than anything. The movie likes to bring up that there are no inspections of abortion clinics (unless there is a complaint filed) but I don't think they focused enough on the fact that there were NUMEROUS complaints filed. So the answer isn't necessarily that clinics should be inspected on a scheduled basis but just that the department of health should have done their jobs when these complaints were brought to their attention.

Throughout most of the film I could not tell whether the movie was made by "pro-life" or "pro-choice" advocates which I thought was excellent as it felt like we were getting an unbiased view of the horrors of some abortion practitioners. However, as the film neared the end it became evident that the filmmakers were most definitely pro-life and instead of ending the film with the satisfying conclusion of Dr. Gosnell getting prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison they decided to side track and add on a piece about a Planned Parenthood clinic in DE. I thought this was unnecessary and misleading. It actually made me question the validity of the rest of the documentary, sadly.

There were also so many things that could have been addressed that weren't. The interview they did with Dr. Gosnell was lacking in a LOT of questions I think viewers of the film would have liked answers to. "Why were you keeping parts of the fetus' in jars?"..."Why did you have 47 fetus' in the freezer?"..."If you really thought you were helping those in need why were the conditions of your clinic in such a poor, filthy state?". Instead they just allowed him to ramble about how he still believes he was doing the right thing.

All in all I felt like this film had a lot of potential to shed some light on a subject that is kept in the dark all too often but instead the film makers used it as a soap box for their political beliefs and lost credibility, at least in my eyes.

Hard to Watch, but Necessary

[joelzwilliams · 8/10 · 21 March 2019]

I think this documentary does not do enough to show the counterpoint of abortion access. In other words, what other alternatives did these women have?

Think about it for a moment; you have been raped, perhaps a victim of incest, possibly even pregnant due to prostitution or sex trafficking. You're ashamed, so you hide your pregnancy for as long as you can. So by default, any abortion you get is probably going to be late term. Add to that, you're also very young and desperately poor. Your own mother doesn't believe you, because your uncle (her brother) "could have NEVER done something like that".

And to the people who say,"Well, there's always adoption". Do you know the odds on black and brown babies getting adopted? Are there sufficient services to assist these young mothers with rent, daycare, strollers, diapers, and all of the things that young mothers require just to have a viable shot at successfully raising a baby. I just wish there would have been more from that perspective.

What A Shame

[Big333223 · 3/10 · 5 October 2017]

For about 50 minutes, this movie tells a compelling and terrible story about a sadistic killer. But maybe this sadistic killer is a tragically misguided man. That the film, for a while, allows this terrible murderer to defend himself is brave and admirable. It's a nuanced portrait of a sick person and a corrupt society, that is worth watching. The storytelling is uncompromising but allows for rare intricacy.

And then, inexplicably, the last 5 minutes of the film are an unrelated and incomprehensible attack on Planned Parenthood. It has nothing to do with Gosnell or his story. It is poorly researched and dishonest in its tacked-on messages. Out of nowhere, it becomes a different movie about a different story with an agenda unaided by everything that has come before it.

Attempting to tie the horrors of Gosnell and his practice to Planned Parenthood and abortions more broadly, is disgusting, unethical, and a shameful waste of an otherwise well researched and interesting documentary.

No matter which side of the fence you're on re: abortion this is a real eye opener

[reviews1958 · 8/10 · 26 June 2017]

As a medical professional of over 35 years and Pro Choice, I wonder if Jennifer Lawrence or any other of the Hollywood so-called elite would still be doing their feel goods for Planned Parenthood within mins. of watching this (from start to finish) documentary. If they would they are as money grubbing and as heartless as Gosnell, his staff, and all of the government workers involved. In any industry if there is a need for a service with no oversight whatsoever, what occurs in this documentary will happen until the end of time. The silly thought of the departments who should've been inspecting this and other abortion clinic but not doing so because it would lessen accessibility for women to obtain abortions is just that - silliness. These health officials have turned back the hands of time and has directly caused abortions to be, essentially, done in back alleys with dirty coat hangers. It's a very sad state of affairs when those who are tasked with the oversight of the safety of citizens are not prosecuted and held liable themselves for turning their heads the other way when it is brought to their attention on numerous occasions of violations and murder. When the persons employed by the government start to view their job description as something they are supposed to do rather then something they're going to be paid for whether they do their job or not, this horrible practice will continue.

As for Gosnell - there is a higher being he will have to answer to one day and rest assured he will not get any life sentence but rather he will spend eternity having to look at and answer to each and every one of those he murdered. As for his staff members, the same goes for them. Being sheeple will not be an excuse to proclaim innocence...they all enjoyed the murdering they were doing day in and day out. No one should ever fool themselves to think anything is done any differently at Planned Parenthood either. Every person, from top to bottom, at Planned Parenthood will meet their maker and the selling of baby parts is going to be a very hard one to explain.

Potential to be a good documentary but got lost preaching anti-abortion speech

[ldeitrick-16036 · 3/10 · 22 January 2017]

This had the potential to be a good documentary on the failure of government agency, the dangers of late term abortions, and the importance of keeping safe and humane abortion clinics available to all women. Instead of focusing on how to improve the system, it choose to demonize abortion itself. If anything, this should serve as a warning of the dangers of making abortions more difficult to receive - more clinics like this would show up in alleys across the country. This is a tragedy and clinics should be inspected for safety, however to imply this is the norm across America, which I believe this did imply, its purely for the benefit of preaching anti- abortion rhetoric.

Propaganda

[dillerphyllis · 1/10 · 22 September 2020]

Anti-choice propaganda parading as a serial killer documentary. The doctor was negligent, but the purpose of this film is to portray all abortion providers in the same light and to scare and shame women from obtaining an abortion. Then there is a blatant, gratuitous last minute attack on Planned Parenthood in the final minutes of the film. Most facilities do not operate in this manner and there was a complete lack of oversight by governmental agencies to prevent or even investigate the deaths of two women in Gosnell's clinic. A short sighted fear mongering propaganda piece.

An eye-opener about the abortion industry

[Phidippides · 9/10 · 14 May 2017]

This documentary chronicles the story of the notorious abortionist, Kermit Gosnell. Told through a combination of accounts such as police testimony, stories by women who visited Gosnell's clinic, and a shocking interview with Gosnell himself, the film paints a harrowing picture of the tragedy that unfolded over several decades at 3801 Lancaster.

Although this documentary primarily focuses on the brutal career of Gosnell, it ends up indicting a whole crowd of people who served as enablers for Gosnell's evil to perpetuate. This crowd included people within Pennsylvania state agencies or prosecutors who simply swept the atrocity under the rug after receiving reports of heinous wrongdoing.

At the end of the film, we are given some sense of closure when prosecutors uncover Gosnell's butchery and put him behind bars. This closure, however, is short lived. We hear from the women who continue to suffer from Gosnell's actions, and we also hear how the kid-gloves treatment of Gosnell wasn't really unique after all. Former Planned Parenthood workers are interviewed who tell us that abuses at their former place of employment have also been swept under the rug and essentially given a pass.

I should add that while watching the film, it's not extremely clear whether the filmmakers were creating this as a "Pro Life" work or a "Pro Choice" work. This is a credit to the sobering statement of facts that they present. Nevertheless, after watching it, I couldn't but help come away with the conclusion that the "abortion rights" movement as a whole is pushed not by concerns about justice but instead by a force that is downright sinister.

Story about a horrible Christian doctor & psychopath

[mastrait · 1/10 · 14 July 2018]

This is a terrible story about a huge injustice. This is what happens when people are not informed and a woman's choice is politicised.

Doctor Gosnell was a Christian doctor and also a psychopath that performed illegal abortions. The state of Pennsylvania was negligent in not following up time and again on complaints about this doctor. This film is basically an anti-choice propaganda piece.

If women especially poor women, had free access to medical services, were well informed and not stigmatized for seeking medical reproductive treatments, counseling, and contraception, this would have never happened.

Low rating reviewers here all use Ad Hominen, not a single one addresses the facts

[random-70778 · 1 March 2021]

The fact is that north of 90% of Americans, that know the facts of the Gosnell case, oppose this type of partial or "post birth" abortion (aka murder in all developed democracies). That 90% of Americans are not pro-choice absolutists, to the point of ignoring outright murder of infants, that the leaders of planned parenthood are. Of note, Planned parenthood, in its eventual late condemnation of Gosnell refused to mention the infants murdered by Gosnell. In its several press relapses and and media statements, Planned parenthood mentioned as victims the women who used the clinic (fine) but never once mentioned the victim children murdered. The vast majority of us are in the middle. Thanks to planned parenthood's its is a fact that in the US an at will abortion can be had later in pregnancy's term than the EU average. A lot of people don't know th.i It is uncomfortable place, but the fact is that planned parenthood denying that these infants were born alive, when in fact the data and science show they were, is telling. Also telling is the armature critics of the film here rely strictly on ad hominem agains the makers. Notice they do not actually address ANY of the points raised in the film?

He's a serial killer.

[bordcutee · 5/10 · 25 August 2021]

First of all, I'm pro-choice. I believe that every woman should have right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health and have complete control of their autonomy. No one, especially the male dominated government and complete strangers, have the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. This isn't the 1940's.

Gosnell was far from being a Christian and an abortion rights advocate, he only unclaimed to be as an excuse to butcher, brutalize and kill women and infants at their weakest moment. He's a psychopath, a serial killer and trophy collector, the worst of the worst. I refuse to place the blame solely on abortion clinics or Planned Parenthood, but on society as a whole. Once again, we have an example of how impoverished and vulnerable women were exploited, neglected and then cast aside; the media barely covered the trial. It really bothered me was that he was given a voice to excuse his horrific crimes and how the makers of this documentary exploited the victims brutalization to push their own pro-life views. Society sure loves to exploit vulnerable female victims...