Sunday, March 17, 2013

A once-pioneering Philadelphia abortion provider goes on trial Monday on eight counts of murder, but prosecutors say he's not the only person to blame for the deaths.

Investigators say Dr. Kermit Gosnell's clinic went years without inspections by state and local health officials.

The 72-year-old Gosnell has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of a 41-year-old patient and seven babies.

The 2011 grand jury report on Gosnell prompted state lawmakers to insist that abortion clinics now meet the same standards as walk-in surgical centers.

Policy analyst Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, believes opponents are capitalizing on the case to restrict abortions.

But state health officials say few if any clinics in Pennsylvania have closed over the new rules.