Estate of Baby Villegas v. Jackrabbit Family Medicine (Arizona)

Arizona Superior Court, Gila County, No. CV202200007

We are defending an Arizona physician and abortion clinic against a lawsuit by a patient’s ex-husband alleging wrongful death of an 8-week embryo. In addition to asserting tort claims on behalf of himself and the embryo’s “estate,” the plaintiff is asserting claims under Arizona’s biased counseling statute, which requires abortion providers to deliver certain biased information to their patients, including information about a government website that promotes anti-abortion centers also known as “crisis pregnancy centers.” Over the patient’s objection, he is seeking money damages for the abortion, including the expected lifetime earnings of the embryo.

The trial court dismissed all of the tort claims and claims on behalf of the estate, rejecting the plaintiff’s prenatal personhood arguments. It concluded, however, that the defendants violated the biased counseling statute by failing to provide the URL for the government’s website. It awarded the plaintiff $5,000 in statutory damages and $62,500 for his alleged pain and suffering, plus attorney’s fees. The plaintiff had sought $1,250,000 for pain and suffering; the award represents only five percent of that amount.

The plaintiff is now appealing the trial court’s judgment.

Plaintiffs:

Estate of Baby Villegas; Mario Villegas

Defendants:

Jackrabbit Family Medicine d/b/a Camelback Family Planning and Gabrielle J. Goodrick, M.D.