Movie on Notorious Abortionist Kermit Gosnell Sets Funding Record
Rob Bluey /
UPDATE: The “Gosnell” movie hit a new milestone Saturday. The crowdfunding campaign topped $1 million, which makes it the largest non-celebrity film on any crowdfunding website, according to the movie’s producers.
Thousands of donors have made pledges totaling more than $900,000 to finance a movie about Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell — making it the most successful film ever on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.
Phelim McAleer, co-producer of “Gosnell,” will speak at The Heritage Foundation next week about the project. He said it will take $2.1 million to produce the film.
McAleer and partner Ann McElhinney launched the crowdfunding campaign last month to tell the story of the man they call “America’s most prolific serial killer.” The previous Indiegogo record was $898,000.
>>> Check Out: The Murderer Hollywood Doesn’t Want You to Hear About
Last year, Gosnell was found guilty of murder for the deaths of babies at his Philadelphia clinic. The producers say their film will document his 40-year career in the abortion business, a period when thousands of babies likely died on his watch. Gosnell is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“Dr. Kermit Gosnell is America’s biggest serial killer — but there was almost no media coverage of his trial,” McElhinney said. “Hollywood — which loves to make movies and TV programs about serial killers — also decided to ignore the story. That’s why we decided to crowdfund and it’s also why we have been the most successful project ever.”
Magdalena Segieda, also a producer for the film, said many Americans are fed up with media bias.
“This sends a message to the media and Hollywood that they need to stop ignoring stories that don’t match their political beliefs,” Segieda said. “By helping ‘Gosnell’ smash these [crowdfunding] records, the public are making a very strong statement about their dissatisfaction with media bias.”
McAleer and McElhinney previously produced “FrackNation,” a film financed by $150,000 in donations on Kickstarter, another crowdfunding website. Kickstarter rejected the movie about Gosnell, saying the project violated the site’s community guidelines of “respect and consideration.”
UPDATE — April 19, 3:53 p.m.:
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.