PHILADELPHIA — In opening statements in court on Monday, prosecutors charged that a doctor who operated a women’s health clinic here killed seven viable fetuses by plunging scissors into their necks and “snipping” their spinal cords and was also responsible for the death of a pregnant woman in his care.

The physician, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder as well as multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal solicitation and violation of a state law that forbids abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy. Dr. Gosnell had operated the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia.

More than two years after he was arrested and the clinic was shut down, and 14 months after a grand jury report described the charges against him, Dr. Gosnell appeared in Common Pleas Court on Monday to face a trial that could result in the death penalty if he is found guilty.

His lawyer, Jack J. McMahon, described Dr. Gosnell as dedicated to treating the poor and accused prosecutors of racism — “a prosecutorial lynching” of his client, who is black.