Defense: Philly abortion doc's case 'a lynching'

This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office shows Karnamaya Mongar and her husband. Karnamaya Mongar died after being given too much anesthesia and pain medication during a 2009 abortion. The only licensed doctor on staff at the clinic where Mongar died, goes on trial Monday, March 18, 2013, on eight counts of murder, but prosecutors say he's not the only person to blame for the deaths. (AP Photo/Philadelphia District Attorney)

This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office shows Karnamaya Mongar and her husband. Karnamaya Mongar died after being given too much anesthesia and pain medication during a 2009 abortion. The only licensed doctor on staff at the clinic where Mongar died, goes on trial Monday, March 18, 2013, on eight counts of murder, but prosecutors say he's not the only person to blame for the deaths. (AP Photo/Philadelphia District Attorney)

In this March 8, 2010 photo, Dr. Kermit Gosnell is seen during an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News at his attorney's office in Philadelphia. Gosnell, an abortion doctor who catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women at the Women's Medical Society, goes on trial Monday, March 18, 2013, on eight counts of murder, but prosecutors say he's not the only person to blame for the deaths. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong Kim) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A lawyer for a Philadelphia abortion provider on trial for allegedly killing live babies and a woman patient calls the murder case "an elitist, racist prosecution."

Defense lawyer Jack McMahon also accuses city officials of "a prosecutorial lynching" of his client, who is black.

The fiery McMahon made the remarks in opening statements Monday in the capital murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. Seven of the 12 jurors are black.

The 72-year-old Gosnell is charged with running a rogue clinic that ignored the state ban on third-term abortions and 24-hour waiting periods. Officials say he also maimed women and teens by letting his untrained staff perform abortions and give anesthesia. And, they say he got rich doing it.

But McMahon says city officials are applying "Mayo Clinic" standards to Gosnell's inner-city clinic in West Philadelphia.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-18-US-Abortion-Clinic-Deaths/id-1a90a32246c844159a8af6c6058f6855

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