Infamous Ex-Abortion Doctor's Alleged Botched 1972 Experiment Became Known as the ‘Mother’s Day Massacre’ — Here's What Happened

An exclusive clip from a soon-to-release documentary about the crimes of infamous, ex-abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell covers a failed experiment in 1972 during which Gosnell was accused of performing botched abortions and seriously injuring nine impoverished women.

Despite the reportedly disastrous result of the experiment, Gosnell was never held accountable by government officials, the film alleges.

The abortions were purportedly part of a horrific event that became known as the "Mother's Day Massacre," an effort that involved the use of a failed experimental abortion device known as the "super coil," according to the grand jury report produced in relation to Gosnell's case.

David Altrogge, director of “3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy,” told TheBlaze on Wednesday that the following clip from his film recounts this chapter in Gosnell's history — one that came decades before he was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies.

"One of the questions that we wanted to answer ... is how did this happen? How did he go on for so long. Why wasn't he stopped earlier?" Altrogge said. "[This clip is] the first exploration of the first incident where Gosnell ran into legal trouble, evading unsafe abortion practices."

Watch the exclusive clip from "3801 Lancaster" below:

Citing a 2010 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the grant jury report recounted an effort by Gosnell and psychologist Harvey Karman on Mother's Day in 1972 to bus 15 poor who were in their second trimesters from Chicago to Philadelphia, where — unbeknownst to them — Gosnell allegedly used the "super coil" device that had been designed by Karman.

That experiment was a major failure and reportedly left nine of the women with serious complications. Here's how Randy Hutchins, a former employee of Gosnell, described the device:

"[It] was supposed to be plastic – basically plastic razors that were formed into a ball. All right. They were coated into a gel, so that they would remain closed. These would be inserted into the woman’s uterus. And after several hours of body temperature, it would then – the gel would melt and these things would spring open, supposedly cutting up the fetus, and the fetus would be expelled."

After the women were injured, investigations were reportedly launched by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, though Gosnell was not formally charged.

Altrogge said that it would be "one thing if this was the only incident," but that he found many other infractions while exploring Gosnell's past.

"By the time that you read through all the times ... he could have been stopped, your head is just spinning," he said.

As TheBlaze previously reported, Gosnell also used a verse from the Bible to affirm his innocence during taped audio interviews for "3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy."

“Until I really completed my first Genesis to Revelation reading of the Bible — which I did since I was incarcerated — I really didn’t feel as comfortable as I am,” Gosnell told filmmakers. “I think it’s Genesis 2:7, expresses the breath of life as the beginning of life that God breathed breath — breathed life — into Adam.”

He continued, “The Bible, to me, is very clear that life does not happen until breath.”

Watch that clip as well:

“3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy” will be released November 10 through Tugg, a crowdsourcing web platform that helps people bring films to local theaters, schools and other venues; the filmmakers’ initial goal is to get 100 venues to host the movie. Go here for more information.

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