It is indeed a privilege. And I don't want to fleece anyone, so I went right back to the Gale home page, looked again at the free trial feature - it can be accessed by anyone, not just academics and libraries, it seems. I even read the terms & conditions etc and couldn't find anything that suggested signing up for the 'free trial' was in any way restricted; there is a 'request free trial' link on practically every page. I tried quite hard to find a 'catch', but haven't managed to so far.
Is access being abused? I'm not sure it is. As several Chatters have discovered, the 'password' and 'login' are the same for everyone. Seems to be the equivalent of applying for a library ticket. The database collection is massive, and Gale/Cengage are a very big outfit.
http://www.cengage.com/ The online archives available in the free trial are a fraction of what they hold. And some are free to view on other sites as well, like the College of Nursing journals.
I think making use of the free trial is the equivalent of using a freeview box to watch selected digital TV channels - if you want more channels you sign up to whoever. Likewise here, if you want more databases, you take out a subcription.

Barbara