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Obama ‘familiar’ with Gosnell trial

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President Obama said that he is “familiar” with the Kermit Gosnell trial but that he cannot speak about the ongoing proceedings.

In an interview with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie broadcast on the Today Show Wednesday, Guthrie asked Obama about the trial of the Philadelphia abortionist charged with the murders of one woman and seven babies born alive.

“Have you been watching the Gosnell trial?” NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie asked. “It’s a Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of gruesome crimes. Are you following it and do you think it animates a larger debate about abortion in this country?”

Obama said he was “familiar with it” but could not comment “because it’s an active trial.” He did reaffirm his support for abortion.

“What I can say is this, I think President Clinton said it pretty well when he said,  ‘abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,” he said.

“If an individual carrying out an abortion, operating a clinic, or doing anything else  is violating medical ethics, violating the law then they should be prosecuted,” Obama added.

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