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Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia doctor found guilty in 2013 of murdering three babies born alive in an abortion clinic, has died at the age of 85.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokesperson Maria Bivens told The Associated Press that Gosnell died March 1 at a hospital outside the prison system. He had most recently been incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution-Smithfield, about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Gosnell’s grimy West Philadelphia clinic became known as the “house of horrors.” He was serving multiple life sentences at the time of his death.
Former employees testified that Gosnell routinely performed illegal abortions past Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit, that he delivered babies who were still moving, whimpering or breathing, and that he and his assistants dispatched the newborns by “snipping” their spines, as he referred to it, according to the AP.
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Dr. Kermit Gosnell is seen during an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News on March 8, 2010, in Philadelphia. (Yong Kim/Philadelphia Daily News via AP, File)
In addition to three counts of first-degree murder, Gosnell also was convicted of running a prescription pill operation out of the clinic.
“Gosnell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone, alprazolam, and codeine; distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone; and maintaining a place for the illegal distribution of controlled substances,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in July 2013.
“Gosnell went from writing several hundred prescriptions for controlled substances per month filled at pharmacies in 2008 to over 2,300 filled at pharmacies in January of 2010,” it added. “Gosnell charged from $115.00 to $150.00, with a follow up visit fee of $50.00 and a $20 fee for refills of controlled substances for cash paying customers.”
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Pedestrians pass in front of the Women’s Medical Society, the site of Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s clinic in West Philadelphia, Pa., in April 2013. (Mark Makela/Corbis via Getty Images)
Conditions at his clinic became known during a 2010 investigation of prescription drug trafficking.
Investigators described a foul-smelling place with bags and bottles of fetuses and jars of body parts, along with bloodstained furniture and dirty medical instruments.
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses were born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms, according to the AP.
Pedestrians pass in front of the Women’s Medical Society, the site of Dr. Gosnell’s clinic, in West Philadelphia on April 30, 2013. (Mark Makela/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.