A judge has thrown out three murder charges against a Philadelphia abortion provider involving babies allegedly born alive. Defense lawyer Jack McMahon had argued Tuesday "there is not one piece .... of objective, scientific evidence that anyone was born alive" at Gosnell's clinic. Prosecutors have argued all along that the babies were viable and that Gosnell and his staff cut them in the back of the neck to kill them. Gosnell, 72, still faces five remaining murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of any of the first-degree cases.
– A Philadelphia judge has thrown out many of the charges facing Kermit Gosnell, including three first-degree murder counts, NBC Philadelphia reports. The judge also put the kibosh on five counts of abuse of a corpse and one of infanticide. The 72-year-old is hardly home free, however; he still faces four more counts of first-degree murder for babies allegedly born alive and then killed, and one of third-degree murder for the death of a 41-year-old patient. The judge didn't immediately explain his rationale in dropping the charges, the AP reports.