An Arizona judge says a man may begin establishing an estate on behalf of an aborted fetus so he can sue a clinic for terminating his third wife’s pregnancy.
Mario Villegas, 41, was allowed to establish an estate for the embryo, dubbed ‘Baby Villegas,’ in order to sue Jackrabbit Family Medicine Inc. and Camelback Family Planning, which carried out an abortion for ex-wife Meagan in 2018.
Villegas, a U.S. Marine veteran who accompanied Meagan during the procedure and consultations, claimed doctors failed to properly inform her of the health risks of an abortion, as well as not telling his ex-wife about the ‘satisfaction’ that comes with being a mother.
He says those oversights constitute breaches of Arizona’s informed consent laws for abortion patients. But his ex-wife Meagan Speer-Villegas has refuted his claims, and insists she has no regrets about having the procedure.
Gila County Superior Court Judge Bryan B. Chambers said he’d allow Villegas to make the argument that the aborted fetus was a person worthy of an estate.
But he said he would withhold judgement on whether the fetus could legally have an estate represent it until a later date.
Villegas, who has been married three times, claims his fetus was a daughter, even though the sex of the embryo was never determined.
Villegas, of Solon, Iowa, originally filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic and its doctors in 2020, claiming the physicians failed to obtain proper consent from his ex-wife.
Arizona holds informed consent laws, which dictates that abortion patients are to have a counseling session and a 24-hour period to mull their decision over before terminating their pregnancies.
‘Defendants failed to obtain Meagan’s informed consent because they did not tell her of the immediate and long-term medical risks associated with abortion that a reasonable patient would consider material, including the loss of the intense and emotionally satisfying maternal bond and relationship inherent in birthing and raising that child,’ the lawsuit states.
Mario Villegas, 41, a U.S. Marine veteran, has been allowed to sue the clinics and doctors who carried out an abortion for his ex-wife in 2018
Gila County Superior Court Judge Bryan B. Chambers said he’d allow Villegas to make the argument that the aborted fetus was a person worthy of an estate.
Villegas had accompanied his ex-wife, Meagan, to terminate her pregnancy at the Camelback Family Planning facility, in Phoenix, Arizona
Attorneys for Villegas argued that medical providers rushed his ex-wife through the abortion procedure
Establishing an estate for a fetus is rare in the U.S., but Villegas reportedly heard about an Alabama case where a man sued the abortion provider for his ex-girlfriend in 2019 on behalf of the aborted embryo, ProPublica reported.
That case was ultimately dismissed in 2020, with an appeal struck down by the state’s high court.
While the Alabama Constitution recognizes the ‘sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children,’ Villegas case was up for interpretation.
Arizona does not explicitly define what constitutes as a deceased person, leaving it to a judge to decided if an aborted fetus counts and can have an estate made in its name. It’s unclear how many states allow estates to be established on behalf of a fetus or embryo.
The state allowed abortion up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. But providers there have canceled all appointments indefinitely, over an 1864 law banning all abortions that was automatically re-enacted after Roe v. Wade was axed last month.
Earlier this year, Arizona’s GOP Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill into law that would only allow abortions up until 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Villegas hired the attorney from the Alabama case, J. Stanley Martineau, and filed a suit against the physicians, which his ex-wife opposed.
‘We were not happy together at all,’ she told ProPublica, adding that their marriage was failing and that she was worried about starting a family with him.
In a deposition, she described Villegas as emotionally abusive and claimed he would not let her get a job or even leave the house unless he accompanied her.
The couple later split, with Meagan insisting they’d discussed a termination before she had the procedure, having deemed their relationship too unstable to continue with the pregnancy.
Martineau argued that although Meagan signed four consent forms, the suit claims that Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick – of Camelback Family Planning where the Villegas were referred to by Jackrabbit Family Medicine Inc. – rushed them.
The lawsuit claimed that ‘evidence shows that in her rush to maximize profits,’ Goodrick allegedly ‘cut corners’ to get the procedure done quickly.
Tom Slutes, Goodrick’s attorney, called the lawsuit ‘ridiculous.’
‘They didn’t cut any corners,’ he told ProPublica, adding that the woman ‘clearly knew what was going to happen and definitely, strongly’ wanted the abortion.
Meagan had signed a deposition that said she ‘felt completely informed’ by the staff prior to the termination of her pregnancy.
Representatives for the Jackrabbit Family Medicine Inc. did not be immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Along with breaching consent laws and undertaking medical malpractice, Villegas also accused the clinics of taking away his fundamental right to parent ‘Baby Villegas’
Along with breaching consent laws and undertaking medical malpractice, Villegas also accused the clinics of taking away his fundamental right to parent ‘Baby Villegas.’
‘Mario has been deprived of the love, affection, comfort, and companionship of his child, Baby Villegas, and has experience, and will continue to experience, pain, grief, sorrow, anguish, stress, and mental suffering as as result of her death,’ the suit claims.
Although his lawsuit described ‘Baby Villegas’ as a girl, the sex of the embryo was never officially determined.
Martineau told ProPublica that the lawsuit is not intended to hurt Villegas ex-wife, but to establish the right of parents in the state.
‘He has no desire to harass’ he said. ‘All he wants to do is make sure it doesn’t happen to another father.’
Goodrick condemned the lawsuit, saying since it was filed two years ago, her annual medical malpractice insurance has more than doubled from $32,000 to $67,000.
After the Supreme Court struck down Roe V. Wade last month, Arizona’s attorney general filed a motion to lift an injunction on the state’s ban on abortion, which prohibits the procedure unless the mother’s life is at risk.