A US doctor has been found guilty of murdering three babies who were born alive during late-term abortions.
Dr Kermit Gosnell (72) has also been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in relation to a 41-year old woman, Karnamaya Mongar, who died of an overdose during an abortion in 2010.
Jurors found that the Philadelphia doctor had murdered the babies, known as A, B and C by snipping their spinal cords with scissors after forcing their mothers to give birth.
A medical school graduate assisting at the clinic had described the doctor’s methods as “literally a beheading” saying that at times “it would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place.”
Alive
The doctor was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for killing the babies after they were born alive – a practice which workers said he had performed hundreds of times.
Employees testified that the babies were crying or moving, and were sometimes alive for up to 20 minutes, before their necks were snipped with surgical scissors.
One worker recalled Gosnell joking that Baby A – who was nearly 30 weeks old – was big enough “to walk me to the bus stop.”
Gosnell was found “not guilty” of murdering a fourth baby who prosecutors said had uttered a sound before being killed.
Vulnerable
The atrocities took place at Gosnell's Women’s Medical Society clinic where he reportedly catered for vulnerable women who were “too pregnant” to get an abortion elsewhere.
The doctor was also convicted of carrying out illegal terminations beyond the 24 week upper limit for abortion in Pennsylvania.
The verdict was delivered in the courtroom of Judge Jeffrey Minehart and could lead to Gosnell facing the death penalty.
Criticism
Both the American and British media have been criticised for initially failing to cover the disturbing case which has re-ignited the debate on abortion.
Pro-life group, Susan B. Anthony List, is insisting that “action be taken” in response to the case, and has called for the upper limit for abortion in Washington D.C. to be reduced to 20 weeks. The group is also pushing for federal laws.
It said: "While the nation's attention is turned to this issue, we do think that we need to start having a question about viability and more limits to abortion based on viability nationwide."
Senator for Utah, Mike Lee, has introduced a resolution for greater regulation of abortion procedures, describing the Gosnell case as a “wake-up call.”
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