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Prosecutors: Abortion Doctor Used Scissors To Kill Newborn Babies

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — A doctor who provided abortions for minorities, immigrants and poor women in what prosecutors describe as a "house of horrors" clinic has been arraigned on murder charges in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell asked in court Thursday that seven of the murder charges against him be explained, raising his eyebrows as Magistrate Jane Rice detailed the grisly charges.

Reporter Tony Hansen with KYW in Philadelphia tells KFWB's Michael Shappee the doctor would perform abortions on women almost up until their due date.

Several clinic workers were also arraigned on various charges.

Gosnell was denied bail, and his next court appearance is set for February.

He was charged with eight counts of murder and a host of other charges Wednesday after a scathing grand jury report.

It described baby body parts kept in jars on shelves and the killings of live-born, late-term babies by severing their spinal cords with scissors.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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