In one regard, Arizona has already implemented a piece of this model legislation as the state’s lawmakers have chipped away at access to abortion and enacted a myriad of regulations on doctors who provide the procedure.
The state’s “informed consent” statute for abortion, first signed into law by then-Gov. Jan Brewer in 2009, mandated an in-person counseling session and a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion. It allows a pregnant person, their husband or a maternal grandparent of a minor to sue if a physician does not properly obtain the pregnant person’s informed consent, and to receive damages for psychological, emotional and physical injuries, statutory damages and attorney fees.
The informed consent laws, which have changed over time, mandate that the patient be told about the “probable anatomical and physiological characteristics” of the embryo or fetus and the “immediate and long-term medical risks” associated with abortion, as well as alternatives to the procedure. Some abortion-rights groups and medical professionals have criticized informed consent processes, arguing the materials can be misleading and personify the embryo or fetus. A 2018 review of numerous studies concluded that having an abortion does not increase a person’s risk of infertility in their next pregnancy, nor is it linked to a higher risk of breast cancer or preterm birth, among other issues.
The wrongful death suit comes at a time of extraordinary confusion over abortion law in Arizona.
Until Roe v. Wade was handed down in 1973, establishing a constitutional right to abortion, a law dating to before statehood had banned the procedure. In March, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who has called Arizona “the most pro-life state in the country,” signed into law a bill outlawing abortions after 15 weeks, and said that law would supersede the pre-statehood ban if Roe were overturned. But now that Roe has been overturned, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, another Republican, said he intends to enforce the pre-statehood ban, which outlawed abortion except to preserve the life of the person seeking the procedure. On July 14, he filed a motion to lift an injunction on the law, which would make it enforceable.
Adding to the muddle, a U.S. district court judge on July 11 blocked part of a 2021 Arizona law that would classify fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses as people starting at conception, ruling that the attorney general cannot use the so-called personhood law against abortion providers. Following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs, eight of the state’s nine abortion providers – all located in three Arizona counties – halted abortion services, but following the emergency injunction some are again offering them.
In the wrongful death claim, Mr. Martineau argued that the woman’s consent was invalidated because the doctors didn’t follow the informed consent statute. Although the woman signed four consent documents, the suit claims that “evidence shows that in her rush to maximize profits,” the clinic’s owner, Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, “cut corners.” Mr. Martineau alleged that Dr. Goodrick and another doctor didn’t inform the woman of the loss of “maternal-fetal” attachment, about the alternatives to abortion or that if not for the abortion, the embryo would likely have been “delivered to term,” among other violations.
Tom Slutes, Dr. Goodrick’s lawyer, called the lawsuit “ridiculous.”
“They didn’t cut any corners,” he said, adding that the woman “clearly knew what was going to happen and definitely, strongly” wanted the abortion. Regardless of the information the woman received, she wouldn’t have changed her mind, Mr. Slutes said. Mr. Slutes referenced the deposition, where the woman said she “felt completely informed.”
Mr. Martineau said in an interview that Mr. Villegas isn’t motivated by collecting money from the lawsuit.
“He has no desire to harass” his ex-wife, Mr. Martineau said. “All he wants to do is make sure it doesn’t happen to another father.”
In a deposition, Mr. Villegas’ ex-wife said that he was emotionally abusive during their marriage, which lasted nearly 5 years. At first, she said, Mr. Villegas seemed like the “greatest guy I’ve ever met in my life,” taking her to California for a week as a birthday gift. But as the marriage progressed, she said, there were times he wouldn’t allow her to get a job or leave the house unless she was with him.
The woman alleged that Mr. Villegas made fake social media profiles, hacked into her social media accounts and threatened to “blackmail” her if she left him during his failed campaign to be a justice of the peace in Gila County, outside of Phoenix.
Mr. Villegas denied the allegations about his relationship but declined to comment further for this story, Mr. Martineau said.
Carliss Chatman, an associate law professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, said certain civil remedies can also be a mechanism for men to continue to abuse their former partners through the court system.
“What happens if the father who is suing on behalf of the fetus is your rapist or your abuser? It’s another way to torture a woman,” Ms. Chatman said.
Ms. Chatman added that these legal actions can be a deterrent for physicians in states where abortion is banned after a certain gestational period, because the threat of civil suits makes it harder for doctors to get insurance.
The lawsuit has added to the stresses on Dr. Goodrick, who has been performing abortions in Arizona since the mid-1990s, and her practice. She said that, since the lawsuit was filed, the annual cost of her medical malpractice insurance has risen from $32,000 to $67,000.
Before providers in Arizona halted abortions following the Supreme Court decision, people would begin lining up outside Dr. Goodrick’s clinic at 6 a.m., sometimes with lawn chairs in hand, like “a concert line,” Dr. Goodrick said.
“Every year there’s something and we never know what it’s going to be,” Dr. Goodrick said recently at her Phoenix clinic. “I’m kind of desensitized to it all.”
Nicole Santa Cruz is a reporter covering issues of inequality in the Southwest.
This story was originally published on ProPublica. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.