A recent Fox New poll shows voters believe a pro-abortion bias in the media is behind the poor coverage of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial. Most national media outlets are either ignoring the trial of the late-term abortion practitioner or providing very little coverage.[i] A new report shows two networks have not covered it and one covered it for a mere 13 seconds.[ii]

The new poll asked voters why they thought the Gosnell case received relatively little attention from the national press. The results found 41 percent of Americans believe pro-abortion bias is the reason why.[iii]

From the Fox News poll:

Another 26 percent say the lack of national coverage is because this is a local crime story, while 17 percent blame it on the gruesomeness of the story’s details. The Fox poll finds that only about a third of voters say they are familiar with the Gosnell story (11 percent say “very” and 21 percent “somewhat” familiar). Most voters — 68 percent — are unfamiliar with it. Seventy-two members of Congress signed three separate letters to network news executives last Thursday expressing their displeasure with the lack of news coverage and demanding the networks report on the story. Among just those who are familiar, over half — 57 percent — think the reason the story hasn’t received more attention is media bias. The remaining views are split between the details being too horrific (18 percent) and it not being a national story (16 percent).

Pro-life respondents (42 percent) are twice as likely as those who are pro-choice (22 percent) to be familiar with the Gosnell case. Likewise, nearly twice as many Republicans (43 percent) as Democrats (22 percent) say they know about it. The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,009 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from April 20 to April 22. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.[iv]

Joe Carter [The Gospel Coalition] gives nine things you should know about the Gosnell infanticide and murder trial.[v] Here is the article summarized: First, Gosnell was charged in 2011 with eight counts of murder. Second, according to prosecutors in Philadelphia, Gosnell catered to minorities, immigrants, and poor women, and made millions of dollars over 30 years performing illegal and late-term abortions in squalid and barbaric conditions. Third, women paid $325 for first-trimester abortion, $1,600 to $3,000 for abortions up to 30 weeks and took up to $15,000 a day. He also allegedly aborted and killed babies in the sixth and seventh months of pregnancy and charged more for bigger babies. Fourth, the clinic reeked of animal urine and the furniture and blankets were stained with blood. Medical instruments found in the practice had not been properly sterilized. State officials have failed to visit or inspect his abortion clinic since 1993. Prosecutors also claim that Gosnell is not certified in either gynecology or obstetrics according to the grand jury report. Fifth, none of Gosnell’s staff were licensed nurses or doctors. Sixth, Gosnell’s arrest and trial have received very little media attention by the national media, and during the early parts of the trial, ABC, CBS and NBC did not cover the trial at all. Finally, the 3801 Lancaster Film Project is an ongoing documentary series about Kermit Gosnell, the Women’s Medical Society, and the cover-up by state and local oversight agencies.

Growing up as I did in Washington State, (a very liberal state in the US) and attending public education for my entire life, I am very familiar with why the liberals would not want this situation to be covered in the media. As I sat in one of my moral philosophy classes at a community college in the Seattle area in the early 2000’s I listened (and shuttered in horror) as my liberal moral philosophy professor taught the pro-choice position as the only viable option. Many have stated the Gosnell case is exposing the bias of the media, and yet behind that bias is a worldview that opposes the God of the Bible. Abortion is an act of defiance against an infinitely holy God who creates, speaks, and sustains life.

The media with its lack of coverage on the Gosnell trial and on the issue of abortion should not surprise Christians. As Christians, we live in a world that increasingly and openly opposes the God of the Bible. Our world loves its sin rather than loving the Creator. People would rather savor in the flavor of their ideas and gather teachers around them who give them mere platitudes than to submit to the teaching of the Bible.

Many people rightly understand that the problem with the Gosnell case is one of worldviews, but what we as Christians need to understand is that this is only the beginning. The bias of the media is well-known and yet we continue to be surprised and shaken by this fact. We should be moved by the grace of God to speak out against those who say that abortion is a choice. If you are a Christian and think abortion is a viable option, you are wrong.  Abortion is murder and the God of the Bible is against murder. The word murder in Exodus 20:13 comes from the word ratsach meaning “to slay, kill, premeditated, as avenger, slayer, and to assassinate.” The Bible insists with an infinite answer of “NO” to those who think abortion is a choice– it’s not a choice; it’s murdering an innocent child, and that is a fact.

The mainstream media will continue to promote its pro-choice ideology as truth, even as they fail to provide coverage on the Gosnell case. By not covering the Gosnell case the liberal media should not surprise us, since their worldview is rotten to the core. Since abortion is an act of treason against God who created life, those who think that abortion is a choice demonstrate that they have no understanding of God or of His Word.

The Bible clearly and loudly voices, to those who will listen, God’s anti-murder/abortion stance, stating that abortion not a matter of choice. This means that our liberal media has an invested interest in not covering this case. The irony of this is not lost on Christian like myself, because Christians are portrayed by this media as intolerant and bigoted, and yet our very own media exposes its own intolerance and bias by not covering the Gosnell case that would expose the pro-choice movement that they so cherish.

Christians are a people who are called to be in the world but not of the world (John 8:23, John 15:19, 17:14-15; Romans 12:2). Christians are a people called by a holy God to reflect His holiness in the world because of what Jesus has done in His death, burial and resurrection (1st Peter 1:13-20). Christians are taught to speak the Truth in love and do so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). The issue of abortion is one of authority, not one of personal choice as some are prone to believe. The media thinks by not covering this issue it is doing itself a favor, but I disagree it is doing a disservice to the American people and failing to live up to the responsibility afforded to it by the Constitution. Rather than being an agent for the propagation of facts, the media has instead become a slave to an ideology that at its core is rotten, perverse and morally evil.

The Gosnell case along with the polling data should not surprise us as the people of God. Biblical Christianity has always stood opposed to the worldview held by non-Christians. Our response to this situation should be to speak out. I encourage you now to join me in not being silent, and to join the fellowship of the unashamed who exclaim that God created, saw it was good, and that only His Son Jesus saves and sanctifies. As that famous hymn states, “On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand”, we as Christians need to remember the testimony of the saints who have gone before us, and those words should be our declaration today as we stand now in His grace.

Christian, choose to stand up, and be counted! You have been saved by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord’s– Jesus Christ. You have been ransomed for a purpose: to testify as a witness for Lord of the Universe–Jesus Christ. The blood of millions of innocents is shed every year, and it is high-time that the people of God spoke out and declared the Truth of the Bible. Christian, do not be silent or ashamed, but declare that our God created life, and He alone sustains life. As this battle continues to rage, may we not be silent but stand firm upon the Word of God and declare with all we are that God created life and therefore it is special, valuable, and worth standing up for. As we declare the Truth of the Bible we will stand up and be counted, not just for the cause of life, but for the King of Glory who creates and who sustains life.

Dave Jenkins( Executive Director )

Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021),  The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.