Jane Doe vs Theard; The Case of Faux Consent

Three years ago the team at Southwest Coalition for Life called us to say there was an abortion patient being arrested at Franz Theard’s southern New Mexico abortion facility following a botched abortion. She was recorded crying in physical pain and emotional anguish as she was handcuffed, put in the back of a squad car, and taken to jail in the midst of a major medical event. That girl was Jane Doe.

Franz Theard of Women's Reproductive Center in Santa Theresa, NM botched Jane’s abortion…twice. First with an unsuccessful chemical abortion attempt via the abortion pill, and then with an incomplete surgical abortion which resulted in Jane delivering pieces of her baby at home days later. She returned to the abortion facility, as they directed her to do, for answers, records, and help from her doctor only to learn that her doctor got in his car and fled the scene while his staff called local police to have her arrested.

After months of legal battles, a judge dismissed the charges of disturbance Franz Theard pursued against his own patient. Now Jane has filed a civil lawsuit against him for violation of fair-trade practice and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things.

We wanted to help Jane knowing she had been harmed by abortion, she deeply regretted her decision, and the doctor she trusted betrayed her. As our team collected and reviewed Jane’s records, we found something that is of major concern to the physical and emotional safety of women trusting Franz Theard as their abortion provider. That something being a consent form that is not only a clear violation of informed consent standards but is also a violation of fair-trade practices via New Mexico Statute Chapter 57-12-3 - Trade Practices and Regulations.

We are often asked why Jane allowed Franz Theard a second attempt at her baby’s life.

THIS FORM IS WHY.

Jane signed this form that states "MUST continue with the surgical abortion" at the start of her abortion process. She was under the false impression that it was a legally binding contract rather than the entirely pointless and illegal piece of trickery that it actually is. She didn’t know she had the choice to not pursue surgical abortion after the chemical abortion failed. She didn’t know she had that choice because her “pro-choice” doctor made sure she didn’t know. Franz Theard knew this form is not accurate or binding, but Jane didn’t.

Women are often told they can’t revoke consent. But that’s a blatant lie. Consent is always revocable. And no doctor can force you to have a second procedure regardless of what dotted line you’ve put your name on. How many women have gone through with a second abortion attempt not because they wanted to but because their doctor lied to them and said they had to? How many lives lost and women harmed because this single consent form? Far too many.

Jane knows now that she was willfully mislead and that her abortion provider cared less for her well-being than for his fiscal gain. And that’s why she has chosen to allow the public to hear about her case. Jane wants women to know this is happening and that it’s wrong. She wants women to be able to walk away in the way she didn’t realize she could. She wants to use her mistakes and trauma to help prevent Franz Theard from destroying more lives. And our team is going to help her do that.

We know our supporters are, for the most part, against legal abortion. As are we. But we aren’t against women. We aren’t against healing. We aren’t against conversion. For those reasons we are for Jane. She is a young woman who was told her whole life that abortion providers care and rescue…she learned the harsh truth in the hardest way possible. Jane does not need our “I told you so” mentality. She needs our “we will fight this injustice with you” mentality. We have to remember that this court case only has two sides: the side of the woman hurt by abortion who is seeking to stop it from continuing, and the side of the abortion provider who lied to her so he could end her child’s life for money. What side we should be on is clear and we know we can trust our supporters to defend and speak up for Jane, rather than berate her, knowing she is not the enemy here.

We want a favorable result on this case for Jane’s sake of course. But even Jane knows that’s not good enough. Therefore, Jane has chosen to pursue injunctions against Franz Theard as part of her civil suit that would require him to forgo tricking women via this faux consent form. Consent matters. INFORMED consent matters.

This case will impact far more than Jane and her family.

This case will demand changes that will result in lives saved from Franz Theard and abortion.

Support Jane and cases like hers by clicking HERE.

And be sure to check our website for more updates as the case progresses!