3 Of 7 Murder Counts Against Philadelphia Abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell Dropped

Three out of seven murder charges against Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of turning to ghastly methods to terminate late-term pregnancies, were dropped Tuesday.

Local Judge Jeffrey Minehart also threw out all five counts of corpse abuse against Gosnell for keeping the feet of aborted fetuses in plastic containers in his Women's Medical Society clinic, which is now closed after a federal raid, Philly.com reported. The count of infanticide -- the intentional killing of an infant -- was also tossed out.

It's been reported that Gosnell used scissors to severe the babies' spines when aborting the fetuses.

Gosnell still faces a third-degree murder charge for a patient who died of a drug overdose following a botched 2009 abortion and multiple counts of performing illegal late-term abortions.

Minehart also dismissed six of the nine counts of theft by deception against Gosnell's co-defendant Eileen O'Neill, the woman prosecutors conteded worked at the clinic as a doctor even though she didn’t have a medical license, Philly.com reported.

The judge will let the jury determine if the 72-year-old doctor is guilty of all other counts.

Gosnell's attorney, Jack McMahon, reportedly argued that all seven counts regarding the fetuses should be dropped. He maintained none of the babies were born alive since they were all injected with lethal drugs before being born, according to the news site.

On the other side, Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron argued there was sufficient evidence from the testimony from former clinic employees to let the jury decide if the seven babies were born alive.

National media -- especially the ABC, CBS and NBC networks -- have been accused by abortion opponents of a "media blackout" of Gosnell’s trial, while the Associated Press and local papers like the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Delaware News-Journal have reporters dedicated to reporting the trial.

If Gosnell is convicted, he could face the death penalty.