Ms. Rice told CBS's "60 Minutes" in 2008 she opposes late-term abortion and supports parental notification for minors seeking abortion.

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Its narrative suggests, however, that "legitimate" abortionists routinely availed themselves of Gosnell's services to help their patients evade legal and ethical limits on late-term abortion.

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For instance, the Republicans have considerable support when it comes to limiting late-term abortions and getting teenagers to notify their parents, but most Americans believe abortion should not be illegal.

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Prosecutors say Dr Gosnell profited greatly from employing low-paid, unlicensed staff, while performing as many as 1, 000 abortions a year, charging from several hundred dollars for an early abortion to several thousand for a three-day long, late-term procedure.

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He became a leader on public-housing reform, voted for gay and lesbian domestic-partner health benefits and executed a complicated straddle on abortion--nominally pro-choice but against federal funding and late-term abortions.

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