Nearly a year after the end of the trial, there’s still opposition to telling the Kermit Gosnell story.
Fox News Contributor Kirsten Powers appeared on FNC’s “The Kelly File” April 1 to discuss how Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site, refused independent filmmaker Phelim McAleer and wife Ann McElhinney permission to fundraise for their new project: the Gosnell Movie. Powers explained that while a grand jury report accused abortionist Kermit Gosnell of “killing hundreds of babies,” Kickstarter only allowed McAleer’s Hat Tip Productions an account to fundraise “if they would remove references to babies being stabbed to death” in the project description. As a result, the husband-wife team turned to site Indiegogo to raise money from the public.
McAleer and McElhinney hope to raise $2.1 million in 45 days for their Gosnell Movie, a scripted drama based on Gosnell’s trial and the grand jury report. The Philadelphia abortionist was convicted last May in the murder of three babies. Continues after the video.
To summarize Kickstarter’s actions, Powers continued, “They [Hat Tip Productions] were essentially being asked to remove -- to make a movie about a criminal -- but being asked to remove the description of the crime that he committed.”
Both Powers and host Megyn Kelly acknowledged a “double standard” in Kickstarter’s actions when considering other Hollywood films produced – and even a movie on convicted murderer Jodi Arias. “If you look at the kinds of projects that they have on Kickstarter right now, they have plenty of projects that involve rape, and incest and stabbing,” Powers pointed out. She stressed, “It was quite clear that the issue here seemed to be abortion.”
After she described how Kickstarter complained that the project “violated their community guidelines” for a “culture of respect and consideration,” Powers asked, “How could this possibly be disrespectful?” She went on to ask, “There are plenty of movies that are done about serial murderers, so why is this one out of bounds?”
Powers finished by noting that Kickstarter made some concessions for the project later on because the site was “shamed by the media.”
Surprising, considering that the trial, in which witnesses described baby abortion survivors “swimming” in toilets, attracted a mere 12 – 15 reporters. Even the three broadcast networks reported on Gosnell only after numerous letters from members of the House of Representatives on top of the public outcry by conservatives.
— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter.
