Defendant Testifies He Killed Abortion Doc

She's believed to be first in country to challenge such laws

(NEWSER) - Abortion bans based on “fetal pain” are highly controversial , but until now, no one is believed to have filed a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality. Jennie Linn McCormack of Idaho became the first when she filed suit against her state’s new law, which bans abortions after the 20-week mark on the premise that is the point at which fetuses begin to feel pain. McCormack was charged with having an illegal abortion after taking pills to terminate her five- to six-month pregnancy last year. A judge later dismissed the case, but the prosecutor could refile charges against her, the AP reports. More»

Anti-choice pranksters manipulate the results

(NEWSER) - Some tech-savvy opponents of abortion have manipulated Google's search results to send a message. As of this morning, the search for the word "murder" turns up the Wikipedia entry for abortion in the No. 2 slot, notes Jezebel . No word from Google yet, which has been working to make these so-called Google bombs harder to pull off. More»

Untrained staff included one worker's 15-year-old daughter

(NEWSER) - More details have emerged about Kermit Gosnell's squalid Philadelphia abortion clinic , which operated for years despite dangerous and unhygienic conditions, at least 15 malpractice lawsuits, and complaints dating back to 1983:

• One of the unlicensed workers at the clinic was the 15-year-old daughter of the clinic's office manager. The teen came after school to administer anesthesia and assist with abortions.
• When induced labor began, the women would be told to sit on a toilet and wait for the fetus to drop. It would later be fished out, so the plumbing would not clog.

Multiple complaints against Kermit Gosnell ignored

(NEWSER) - Pennsylvania health officials ignored multiple complaints against Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of systematically killing newborn babies with scissors, the grand jury concluded. Almost a third of its report is spent castigating state and city authorities for their negligence, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer . “Government health and licensing officials had received reports about Gosnell’s dangerous practices,” the jury wrote. “No action was taken, even after the agencies learned that women had died under Gosnell’s care.” More»

Prosecutors say he killed fetuses who were born alive

(AP) - A Philadelphia doctor who gave abortions to minorities, immigrants, and poor women in a "house of horrors" clinic was charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors, prosecutors said. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, made millions of dollars over 30 years, performing as many illegal, late-term abortions as he could, prosecutors said. More»