A woman, who worked for an abortion doctor charged with killing babies with scissors, has admitted to murdering a newborn baby at a court hearing in Philadelphia, USA.
(Some readers may find this story upsetting)
Adrienne Moton, 34, admitted to killing a baby by cutting its throat. The baby had been delivered over a toilet.
Moton, like other staff, was not formally trained and had no licence for her job at the abortion clinic. She may be sentenced in December.
Illegal
The guilty plea is the latest stage in the shocking case involving Dr Kermit Gosnell.
In January Dr Gosnell faced allegations of inducing the births of babies during the sixth, seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, and then severing their spinal cords using a pair of scissors.
He is denying the allegations and being held on a $2 million bail (£1.2m).
Dr Gosnell is believed to have made millions of dollars by performing illegal later term abortions at his clinic in Philadelphia.
Horror
The case first emerged last year when officials went to investigate drug related complaints at Dr Gosnell’s clinic only to discover what prosecutors have described as a “house of horrors”.
Commenting on the discovery District Attorney Seth Williams said: “A search of the office last year by authorities found bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses scattered throughout the building.
“Jars containing the severed feet of babies lined a shelf. Furniture and equipment was blood-stained, dusty and broken.”
Murder
He described one infant’s death, saying: “The baby had been born and was on a cold steel table and murdered by using — there’s no medical basis for snipping or taking scissors and putting them into the neck and cutting, severing the spinal cord. It’s just homicide. It’s just murder”.
Abortions are legal up to 24 weeks gestation in Pennsylvania.
Press reports in January indicated that Dr Gosnell charged $325 (£200) for early abortions and between $1,600-3,000 (£1,000-1,900) for abortions up to 30 weeks gestation.