ELKTON, Md. -- A judge has set a trial date of June 27 for a Utah abortion doctor charged with murder for the death of a fetus during a 2010 procedure in Maryland.
Dr. Nicola Riley is charged under a Maryland law that allows prosecutors to pursue murder charges in the death of a viable fetus. Her former colleague, Dr. Steven Brigham of New Jersey, has been charged in the deaths of five fetuses.
The law had not previously been used against abortion doctors, and attorneys for both doctors have argued that they are immune from prosecution. But Cecil County prosecutors have indicated they believe any killing of a viable fetus is homicide.
Riley's trial is scheduled to last through mid-July. Brigham is scheduled for trial starting on June 6.
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