'House of horrors' abortion clinic worker says it was 'standard procedure' to kill babies by snipping their spines with scissors



Dr Kermit Gosnell, 72, is on trial for 'murdering seven babies and a woman, 41' at an abortion clinic in Philadelphia

Former worker Lynda Williams said she was told how to snip babies' necks

She claimed the patients took pain medication that was out of date or didn't work - and that Gosnell would slap their legs if they squirmed



Eight clinic employees have pleaded guilty to various charges in the case



Cruel: Lynda Williams has testified how she was 'creeped out' after snipping a baby's spine

A woman who worked at a Philadelphia abortion clinic has testified how she was told snipping babies' spines after they were born was 'standard procedure' to bring about 'fetal demise'.

Lynda Williams, 44, said her former boss Dr. Kermit Gosnell taught her how to turn a baby over and cut its neck with a pair of scissors - but she only did it once because it gave her 'the creeps'.

As she testified in the murder trial against Gosnell, she added that patients were often given pain medication that did not work during procedures, and that he would slap their legs if they squirmed.

Gosnell, 72, is charged with murdering seven babies at Philadelphia Women's Medical Society and with the death of a woman, who suffered cardiac arrest after she was given too much anesthesia.

He performed illegal, late-term abortions and when the babies were born alive, he would sever their spinal cords to kill them, prosecutors have claimed over the four-week trial.

Williams herself has pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder to escape a possible death penalty or life sentence. She admitted to cutting the spine of one baby and administering the anesthesia in November, 2009 when patient Karnamaya Mongar went into cardiac arrest.

Murder? Some former employees at the Women's Medical Society, said many women came to the clinic for abortions but looked as if they were too far along in their pregnancies to be there

She added it was one of her duties to pick up babies that women would spontaneously give birth to in the waiting room after getting large doses of drugs, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Like many of Gosnell's employees, Williams was desperate for work when he gave her a job. She had a poor education and had not even finished eighth grade, although went on to work as an instrument sterilizer. During this job, she met Gosnell who performed abortions at the clinic. But her life began spiralling out of control when her husband was murdered in 2008 and she was diagnosed with bipolar and depression. She asked Gosnell if he had any work for her. He hired her to sterilize instrument and soon asked her to carry out ultrasounds, administering intravenous medication and anesthesia to patients. 'House of horrors': Another former employee claimed he saw 100 live babies killed at the clinic, pictured Unfathomable: A grand jury photograph shows what police say are plastic bags hiding body parts in a refrigerator inside the Philadelphia practice She told the jury that Gosnell changed paperwork on patients that were too heavily pregnant to undergo an abortion so that they appeared to be less than 24 weeks - the legal time limit.

She added that pain medication was sometimes out of date or did not work - and she would see Gosnell 'smack' the legs of women who squirmed, leaving his hand print behind.

Her testimony comes a day after another worker, Sherry West, told the court how she was once handed an underdeveloped newborn with no eyes or mouth and told to deal with it.

Other employees have described how they saw about 100 babies born alive and then 'snipped'. Some told the court of gruesome scenes at the clinic which was allegedly found dirty and rundown with rusting surgical instruments. Discovery: Investigators found these bags allegedly filled with body parts at the clinic in Philadelphia Rundown: An internal shot of the clinic, which was allegedly reeking of animal urine and feces A Grand Jury report said the clinic was crawling with cats and reeking of animal urine and feces. Furniture and blankets were stained with blood and instruments were not properly sterilized. Disturbingly, the report alleged that fetal remains were stuffed into: 'cabinets, in the basement, in a freezer, in jars and bags and plastic jugs'. 'It would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place. It is literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body,' one former employee Stephen Massof told NBC . But he said he believed the intentions of his boss were honest and that the doctor believed he was helping the women, often extremely poor, who came to him

The doctor: Kermit Gosnell Charged: Pearl Gosnell Employee: Elizabeth Hampton

Arrested: Tina Baldwin Assistant: Sherry West Worker: Adrine Moton

Accomplice: Eileen O'Neil Locked up: Stephen Massof Held: Maddline Joe

'I believe that Dr. Gosnell was honestly trying to help women and protect them from abuse and neglect,' Massof said.

The trial is in its fourth week and is expected to last another month. If Gosnell is found guilty he could be given the death penalty.



Eight clinic employees have pleaded guilty to various charges, while a ninth is on trial with Gosnell.

Gosnell's lawyer denies the murder charge and disputes that any babies were born alive. He also challenges the gestational age of the aborted fetuses, calling them inexact estimates.