Gosnell’s wife appeals for lower bail

The lawyer for the wife of accused West Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell has asked a Philadelphia judge to reduce her $1-million bail so she can be released from prison.

The motion by defense attorney Mary T. Maran on behalf of Pearl Gosnell, 50, will be heard Friday by Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner.

Maran said she had not decided on the amount of bail reduction she would seek. But she said such a bail request is not unprecedented.

On Friday, Lerner granted a request to reduce the $1-million bail for co-defendant Eileen O'Neil, 54, to $30,000. O'Neill posted 10 percent of the lower amount and was released Friday, according to court records.

O'Neill, of Phoenixville, was a medical-school graduate who allegedly worked at Gosnell's Women's Medical Society clinic at 3801 Lancaster Ave. as a doctor without a license and certification.

Although he reduced O'Neil's bail, Lerner barred her from leaving Pennsylvania or from traveling more than 35 miles from her Chester County home. She is barred from assisting in, or practicing medicine and also must report to his courtroom every Monday.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Wechsler confirmed Friday's hearing for Pearl Gosnell but had no further comment.

The financial status of the Gosnells has been an issue since January when they and eight of their employees were charged by the city prosecutor in the deaths of a patient and seven infants born live and viable but allegedly killed by Kermit Gosnell.

At their first court appearance, the Gosnells claimed to be destitute and asked for a public defender.

Prosecutors, however, said they had found more than a dozen properties owned by one or both worth millions of dollars.

Kermit Gosnell, 70, who is held without bail, is represented by Jack McMahon, one of the city's best-known criminal defense attorneys and with whom Maran is an associate.

Prosecutors have said they are considering asking for the death penalty if Kermit Gosnell is found guilty of first-degree murder when the case goes to trial.

The charges against the Gosnells and their eight employees were based on a 260-page county grand jury report.

The report described in gory, horrific detail how Gosnell allegedly performed illegal late-term abortions for poor women, in some cases killing viable infants by snipping their spinal cords with scissors.