Kermit Gosnell Murder Trial: A week in, jury still weighing Phila. abortion doctor case

(AP) PHILADELPHIA - It's been a week since jurors in Philadelphia began weighing charges against Kermit Gosnell, the doctor accused of killing four live babies and a patient at his abortion clinic.

The panel must sift through more than 250 charges, including five counts of murder and more than 200 abortion-law violations.

Prosecutors say the 72-year-old Gosnell routinely killed babies born alive by severing their spines with scissors.

Jurors appear to be deliberating over the murder charges, asking for help this week with the legal distinctions between first- and third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Tuesday marks the fifth full day of deliberations in the two-month trial.

The jury spent several days last week asking questions about co-defendant Eileen O'Neill, an unlicensed doctor charged with billing for patient care at the clinic.

Complete coverage of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial on Crimesider