Kermit Gosnell was a Philadelphian physician and abortion provider convicted of three cases of first-degree murder for infants that were alive when he killed them, the involuntary manslaughter death of a patient undergoing an abortion, 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. Obviously, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This film tells his horrible tale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmpWnsdj7jg

The film was originally intended to be a made for TV movie, but the filmmakers later decided to make it into a feature film. They finished filming in 2015 but ran into difficulties finding a distributor to carry the film, as well as a lawsuit by a judge who objected to his portrayal. It also had negative run-ins with Kickstarter, which censored its email advertising before raising over $2 million dollars on Indiegogo.

Finally, this movie — directed by character actor Nick Searcy (General Frank Hoyt from The Shape of Water) — was finally released in 2018.

This controversy went on after the film was released, with the filmmakers claiming that multiple theater chains dropped the film after its first week. And Searcy later wrote an op-ed for the National Review where he claimed that the film would cause him to be shunned in Hollywood.

Honestly, it all feels rather like a rerun of a second string Law and Order ripoff. But hey — Dean Cain is in it! And the owner of Rob’s Place from What’s Happening! plays Kermit!

If you want to know more, you can visit the film’s official site. Or check out the superior 3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy, an astounding documentary on the case. It’s playing for free on Amazon Prime.