Contact: Jessica Rodgers, National Right to Life Committee, 202-626-8825, mediarelations@nrlc.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- As reported in the Associated Press today, Kermit Gosnell, an abortionist in Pennsylvania was charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of one "patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors."

In response, the following may be attributed to David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., National Right to Life executive director:

This tragic report once again reminds us that the purpose of each abortion -- no matter how it is performed -- is to deliberately and brutally take at least one innocent human life.  The victims are helpless little members of the human family, and this is equally true whether the killing is completed inside or outside of the womb.  And tragically, in this case, it is reported that a mother also lost her life.  If the reports prove true, these individuals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life organizations and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide, is the nation's largest pro-life group. National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide.