Judge OKs Suit over Baby Body Parts Research

A woman’s lawsuit against a New Mexico abortion center will proceed, thanks to a New Mexico judge’s refusal to dismiss her case.

Jessica Duran filed suit last year against Southwestern Women’s Options (SWO) for not telling her about its relationship with the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the possibility that it sent her dead baby there for research.

The abortion center and abortionist Curtis Boyd filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but New Mexico District Judge Clay Campbell ruled this month that all seven counts filed against SWO—including negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress—merit a trial by jury.

Because the consent form Duran signed before her abortion “only authorized the clinic and/or physician to perform any research, the plaintiff Jessica Duran did not have knowledge of the facts, conditions, or circumstances that would have caused her to make a reasonable inquiry into whether someone or some other entity other than the clinic and/or treating physician may perform research on any donated tissue or parts,” Campbell wrote.

Elisa Martinez, director of New Mexico Alliance for Life, told me her organization is optimistic Duran will win at trial, since the facts are “clear and unambiguous.”

“This case is a monumental decision in that it shows what we and the Select Panel on Infant Lives have been pointing out all along that women are being…