Judge tosses three murder charges in Gosnell trial

The judge presiding over Kermit Gosnell’s murder trial threw out three charges against the Philadelphia abortionist today.

Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Minehart did not explain his decision to toss the first-degree murder charges in the deaths of three babies allegedly born alive after botched abortion procedures. Gosnell is accused of killing the babies by cutting their spinal cords with scissors.

Before Minehart’s ruling, defense attorney Jack McMahon argued the court had heard no “objective, scientific evidence” that any babies were born alive at Gosnell’s abortion center, described by prosecutors as a “house of horrors.”

But several of Gosnell’s former employees testified the babies took breaths or moved after being born.

Gosnell still faces five first-degree murder charges in the deaths of four babies and a patient who died after receiving too much anesthesia during a late-term abortion procedure. Prosecutors allege Gosnell routinely performed abortions well past the state’s 24-week limit.

Check back soon for more coverage of today’s developments. Read WORLD’s previous coverage of the Gosnell trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.