One year has passed since abortionist Kermit Gosnell went on trial, and his horrific crimes are still having an impact today.

Pennsylvania and other states have taken action to help prevent other abortionists like Gosnell from preying on vulnerable women and their babies; but there is still so much work to be done.

Star Parker, a pro-life leader in the black community, writes at LifeNews.com:

“Anecdotes of those who worked (at Gosnell’s abortion facility) suggest the scope of murder, illegal abortions, abuse of women — mostly low income minority and immigrant women — was far beyond what could be adequately documented to stand up for the trial.

“The years that Gosnell committed his atrocities with no regulatory oversight, and the challenges to get national media attention to his trial once it began, should provoke extra vigilance today to ad-dress the issues involved that still are not getting adequate attention and the extent to which similar abuses are occurring elsewhere.

“At the conclusion of the Gosnell trial, the chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Energy and Commerce committees wrote to Attorneys General and leading health officials in all the states.

“Attorneys General were asked whether ‘state and local officials are being stymied in their efforts to protect the civil rights of newborns and their mothers by legal or financial obstacles that are within the federal government’s power to address.’ State health officials were asked how they regulate and monitor abortion clinics to protect the health and safety of women.

“We’d like to know the results of these inquiries and how this information can be used to create better policies for protecting women and children.

“My colleagues find in their investigations around the nation that Kermit Gosnell was by no means one of a kind. There are more. And, to our dismay, irresponsible and inhumane behavior continues regarding the treatment of women, particularly low-income minority women, in these facilities.”

Pennsylvania, under pro-life Governor Tom Corbett, has done a lot to help protect women and babies from abortionists who would prey on their vulnerability.

Right now, the Pennsylvania Senate is considering a bill that would enact harsher penalties for impersonating a doctor – something several of Gosnell’s employees did.

We must stay vigilant. We must never forget the women and babies who Gosnell slaughtered. And we must never stop working to protect them.