Arizona Judge Allows Ex-Husband to Sue Clinic for Abortion Done Four Years ago

[jwinfield]

Her Ex-Husband Is Suing a Clinic Over the Abortion She Had Four Years Ago

Experts say the Arizona lawsuit shows how civil suits could be used to intimidate providers and punish people who’ve had abortions.

www.propublica.org

Nearly four years after a woman ended an unwanted pregnancy with abortion pills obtained at a Phoenix clinic, she finds herself mired in an ongoing lawsuit over that decision.

A judge allowed the woman’s ex-husband to establish an estate for the embryo, which had been aborted in its seventh week of development. The ex-husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic and its doctors in 2020, alleging that physicians failed to obtain proper informed consent from the woman as required by Arizona law.

The experts said this rare tactic could become more common, as anti-abortion groups have signaled their desire to further limit reproductive rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. The Arizona lawsuit and others that may follow could also be an attempt to discourage and intimidate providers and harass plaintiffs’ former romantic partners, experts said.

In July 2018, the ex-husband, Mario Villegas, accompanied his then-wife to three medical appointments — a consultation, the abortion and a follow-up. The woman, who ProPublica is not identifying for privacy reasons, said in a deposition in the wrongful death suit that at the time of the procedure the two were already talking about obtaining a divorce, which was finalized later that year.

“We were not happy together at all,” she said.

The following year, in 2019, Villegas learned about an Alabama man who hadn’t wanted his ex-girlfriend to have an abortion and sued the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville on behalf of an embryo that was aborted at six weeks.

To sue on behalf of the embryo, the would-be father, Ryan Magers, went to probate court where he asked a judge to appoint him as the personal representative of the estate. In probate court, a judge may appoint someone to represent the estate of a person who has died without a will. That representative then has the authority to distribute the estate’s assets to beneficiaries.

When Magers filed to open an estate for the embryo, his attorney cited various Alabama court rulings involving pregnant people and a 2018 amendment to the Alabama Constitution recognizing the “sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.”

A probate judge appointed Magers representative of the estate, giving him legal standing to sue for damages in the wrongful death claim. The case, believed to be the first instance in which an aborted embryo was given legal rights, made national headlines.

 

[BaggerofTea]

Watch this shyt go to the Supreme Court.........

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

I'm predicting a bunch of MRA posts demanding female accountability

 

[BaggerofTea]

I'm predicting a bunch of MRA posts demanding female accountability

These clowns would take away their own freedoms to spite women.

 

[Bud Bundy]

Her Ex-Husband Is Suing a Clinic Over the Abortion She Had Four Years Ago

Experts say the Arizona lawsuit shows how civil suits could be used to intimidate providers and punish people who’ve had abortions.

www.propublica.org

She should sue for child support

 

[bnew]

suing after attending all three appointments at the abortion clinic is absolutely delusional.

 

[shopthatwrecks]

peckerbacks are retarded

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

Bum ass piece of shyt

 

[Neo. The Only. The One.]

I hate these both side clowns who continue to parrot MAGA talking points that enabled Trump and his cronies to appoint these conservative idiots to the Supreme Court.

 

[get these nets]

"Failed to obtain proper informed consent from the woman"?
WTF!?

From the women who went in requesting an abortion?

 

[Fillerguy]

I have so many questions here. How does one setup an estate for someone with a ssn? That's a major KYC compliance violation and a money laundering risk. The IRS won't even allow us to open savings account for unborn babies.

"The ex-husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic and its doctors in 2020, alleging that physicians failed to obtain proper informed consent from the woman as required by Arizona law."

How do you sue on behalf of another person w/o their consent? Is he his ex's legal guardian? Why would a judge accept this case?