Abortion debate inflamed by horrific details in trial of Philadelphia doctor

Note to blog readers: I generally don't like posting on lurid crime stories unless they have some relevance to broader society or the country. But the trial of Kermit Gosnell certainly falls into that category. And so from time to time I will be posting updates. That said I must again caution that the nature of the alleged crimes is exceptionally horrific. Some may wish to pass over these updates.

PHILADELPHIA — The trial resumed just before 11:30 a.m. Monday in a downtown courtroom, as Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart entered Courtroom 304.

“It’s come to my attention that media coverage of this case has increased,” Minehart told the jurors, who could see for themselves how right he was.

Reporters from the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and Fox News had settled in alongside a handful of local and wire service reporters to hear the latest testimony regarding the case of Kermit Gosnell, a 72-year-old abortion provider who faces charges of murdering seven infants whose spines he allegedly snipped with scissors when they were born after induced labor at his West Philadelphia clinic.

Gosnell also faces a third-degree murder charge in the death of a Virginia woman who died after allegedly receiving too much anesthesia under his care during a 2009 abortion. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Read the rest here.