Life News
A late-term abortion clinic in New Mexico faces a lawsuit after it killed a baby in an abortion and then harvested the baby’s body parts for research — without the mother’s consent. As LifeNews previously reported, a woman who aborted her baby in 2012 says the abortion facility donated her aborted daughter’s body to researchers at the University of New Mexico without her full knowledge or consent.
Jessica Duran filed a lawsuit against the Southwestern Women’s Options alleging that the abortion facility did not tell her that donating her aborted baby’s body was voluntary. Duran also said the abortion facility did not give her details about how her baby’s remains would be used in the research.
Duran’s lawsuit accuses SWO of deceptive trade practices and violation of state law, which requires informed consent before providing an abortion.
In a written ruling handed down last week, District Judge Clay Campbell of Albuquerque denied a motion by late-term abortionist Curtis Boyd and his business, Southwestern Women’s Options (SWO), to dismiss the lawsuit.
Judge Campbell ordered that all seven causes of action in Duran’s lawsuit, including the unauthorized harvesting of her infant’s body parts for research at the University of New Mexico (UNM), should go to trial and be decided by a jury.
“This ruling confirms the findings of our investigation,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who chaired the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives last Congress. “We found evidence that women were being misled by these consent forms. I welcome this ruling and applaud Ms. Duran for continuing her fight against these injustices on behalf of the women who have endured the same.”
The transcript of the judge’s ruling points out deficiencies within the abortion consent form, which contains language about donating fetal tissue for research: “the only people being authorized, on its face, to do the research, is the clinic and the doctor. It doesn’t authorize UNMH to do the research.” Judge Campbell also stated, “failing to disclose the collaboration with the University of New Mexico. That fact should have been disclosed, wasn’t disclosed.”
“This is a monumental finding by the court,” said Elisa Martinez, executive director of the New Mexico Alliance for Life. “It shows UNM was not authorized to do any research using aborted infant bodies from Curtis Boyd’s abortion business, and thousands of women were deceived who now deserve justice.”
The Judge further noted the conflict of interest between UNM and Boyd, “I understand he [Curtis Boyd] was wearing two hats. The second hat was not disclosed, and it’s fairly clear from the allegations, taking them as true, that the research was being performed wearing the hat of him as an adjunct professor of UNMH. ”
Life News report continues
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