FOXNews.com: ABORTION DOC TRIAL: Gosnell Stays Mum as Jury Hears Closing Arguments

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ABORTION DOC TRIAL: Gosnell Stays Mum as Jury Hears Closing Arguments Apr 29th 2013, 18:37 A Philadelphia jury is hearing closing arguments in the murder trial of an abortion provider accused of killing a woman and four viable babies, but they won't hear from the doctor himself. Dr. Kermit Gosnell decided Wednesday not to testify or call witnesses at his capital murder trial. Gosnell, 72, is charged with killing babies after they were born alive at his West Philadelphia clinic, which allegedly catered to poor, desperate women and teens with late-term pregnancies. The trial judge this week dismissed charges involving three other babies, apparently finding the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence they were viable, born alive and then killed. Gosnell also is charged in the 2009 overdose death of a 41-year-old abortion patient. A string of former employees have testified that Gosnell relied on untrained staff to sedate and monitor women as they waited for abortions. A lawyer for 56-year-old Eileen O'Neill, Gosnell's co-defendant, said Monday that prosecutors didn't prove their case against her. O'Neill, of Phoenixville, is charged with theft and isn't licensed to practice medicine, but defense attorney James Berardinelli told the jury in closing arguments Monday that prosecutors failed to prove that O'Neill billed as a licensed doctor. He likened O'Neill's charge – theft by deception – to a "scam." "There is no criminal charge called 'practicing without a license,'" he said. "It's not their license; it's their experience -- that's what you're paying for." Berardinelli says O'Neill consulted with Gosnell for any patient she saw and she mostly treated geriatric patients and wasn't involved in surgical abortions. Prosecution witnesses say they got prescriptions from O'Neill pre-signed by Gosnell and never knew she wasn't licensed. Berardinelli concluded his statements by going over contradictions in witness testimony regarding the prescriptions, and stressing that the burden of proof is on the prosecution. "This is a decent, law-abiding, honest person. That's her reputation," he said, asking the judge to acquit O'Neill of her charges. Authorities have also said the abortion clinic was operated in filthy conditions, and a grand jury report called it a "house of horrors." But during closing arguments Monday, defense attorney Jack McMahon showed photographs of a relatively neat waiting room and other areas in Gosnell's clinic, saying that pictures don't lie. He said the clinic wasn't perfect but it wasn't the criminal enterprise that prosecutors claim.  Prosecutors say Gosnell killed viable babies born alive after putting a steady stream of often low-income, minority women through labor and delivery. Former employees have testified that Gosnell taught them to "snip" babies' necks after they were delivered to "ensure fetal demise." "Why would you cut a baby in the back of the neck unless you were killing them?" Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron argued last week, as he asked a judge to send all seven first-degree murder charges to the jury. Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Minehart, though, threw out three of those counts for lack of evidence they were viable, born alive and then killed. Gosnell is also charged in the overdose death of a patient, 41-year-old refugee Karnamaya Mongar, of Woodbridge, Va. The jury must now weigh the five murder counts, along with lesser charges that include racketeering, performing illegal abortions after 24 weeks, failing to observe the 24-hour waiting period and endangering a child's welfare for employing a 15-year-old in the procedure area. Defense lawyer Jack McMahon has argued that there were no live births at the clinic, and he found some support from a prosecution witness, Philadelphia's top medical examiner. Dr. Sam Gulino, who examined 47 aborted fetuses stored in freezers at the clinic, said he could not definitively say if any had taken a breath because the lung tissue had deteriorated. The prosecution's other evidence to support the live birth argument comes from former employees, who testified that they saw aborted babies move, breathe or even cry. McMahon challenged them on cross-examination, questioning whether they had instead seen post-mortem spasms. "You have to have definite, voluntary movement," McMahon argued. The jury has seen a graphic photograph of some of the aborted babies and a worker testified that Gosnell joked that one was so big "it could walk to the bus." Lynda Williams, Adrianne Moton and Sherry West, all untrained clinic workers, and unlicensed doctor Stephen Massof have each pleaded guilty to third-degree murder charges and testified against Gosnell. And four others have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, including Gosnell's wife, Pearl. Gosnell did not testify, but could take the stand in the penalty phase if he is convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Prosecutors say Gosnell is a misogynist for the way he treated female patients while the inner-city doctor described himself as an altruist in a 2010 interview with the Philadelphia Daily News. "I wanted to be an effective, positive force in the minority community," Gosnell said. Fox News' Kirstin Brown and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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