ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (LifeSiteNews) – The University of New Mexico will pay $365,000 to settle a lawsuit from the family members of a woman killed by an abortion.
The mom and sister of Keisha Atkins first filed a lawsuit in 2018 after the 23-year-old died in 2017 after seeking a 24-week abortion from late-term abortionist Curtis Boyd at Southwestern Women’s Options (SWO).
Abortion on Trial (AOT), a group that assists people and families harmed by abortion, shared an update on the case recently. It assisted in the legal battle.
“After a few years of legal battles, hearings, and major Covid delays the case has finally been dismissed and UNM has agreed to pay the Atkins family $365,000.00 for the negligent referral that led to Keisha’s death,” AOT announced. “Of course it is important to note that $365,000.00 is actually going to be paid by the taxpayers who are funding this public university’s negligent decisions.”
The details of the settlement were just made public last week, though court documents posted by AOT show the university and Atkins’ family reached the agreement in January.
“Abortion On Trial is pleased with this settlement not only for sake of the Atkins family, but for the sake of women’s safety going forward,” the group said in a statement. “If a major university is paying $365,000.00 for referring a woman to an abortion clinic, anyone referring women to abortion clinics should be terrified of the risks they’re taking.”
The wrongful death lawsuit accused UNM of covering up Atkins’ cause of death.
“Keisha Atkins’ medical treatment was a series of negligence and malpractice which ultimately led to her untimely death – these actions were compounded by the fact that she was instructed to not seek emergency room care by Southwestern doctors,” Atkins’ attorney Michael Seibel said in 2018. “We also have reason to believe that these parties conspired with UNM’s Medical Investigator to conceal the cause of death from the abortion in order to protect each other’s interests and long-standing relationships.”
Boyd admitted during a deposition for this lawsuit that he commits abortions regardless of the age of the preborn baby. The abortionist says it’s his “calling” to provide “full-range, first, second, and third-trimester” abortions and “[t]here’s not set period” in which he would refuse to commit an abortion.