University of New Mexico Dept. head confirms aborted baby brains dissected for high school students

A recent video shows the chancellor of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Paul Roth, admitting that one of the university’s summer science programs for high school students dissected  baby brains for research.

This confirms what the House Select Panel on Infant Lives exposed in its report when it referred the university to the New Mexico attorney general for criminal charges for possibly violating New Mexico’s Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

Roth, who is also the dean of the medical school, is shown in a video released by the New Mexico Alliance for Life (NMAFL), admitting that some baby brains were used in research:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XqAkQ5ELBI]

The person questioning repeatedly tells him she is videotaping the conversation and asks Roth to repeat what he said earlier about using human remains with high school students. Roth replies on camera:

Yes, we had a faculty member who obtained some tissue, and during one of these summer workshops, uh, dissected I think one or two fetal brains.

Roth declined to confirm the source of the fetal brains when the questioner asked him “were those from Dr. Boyd’s?” The questioner is referring to the abortion facility operated by late-term abortionist, Curtis Boyd, who also teaches at the university’s medical school. Boyd’s facility provides fetal tissue for UNMHSC, and in February, the university’s response to the Select Panel included this comment:

The only entity from which  UNMHSC receives fetal tissue is Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque, NM. The tissue is donated at no cost to UNMHSC and it is picked up by the clinic by UNMHSC staff. UNMHSC  does not purchase or sell fetal tissue, nor does it transfer fetal tissue in exchange for any other valuable consideration. (Attachment 22, page 114)

Since the brain acquisition occurred prior to this comment, and the comment mentions SWWO as an exclusive source, it would seem that the university claims no other source, despite Roth saying he doesn’t know for sure where the human fetal brains came from. Previously, Roth also indicated in a letter (acquired by NMAFL) to New Mexico legislators that UNMHSC contracts with SWWO.

In a letter to its mailing list on August 18, NMAFL commented on the video exchange, saying:

One witness described UNM HSC’s chief, Paul Roth’s demeanor as “cold, clinical and dismissive-it was very apparent he didn’t want to be bothered with questions about UNM’s use of human fetal remains, even though his salary is paid by the taxpayers of this state.”

The university recently got the attention of the local newspaper which wrote a scathing editorial condemning the lack of respect for human fetal tissue displayed by the university. As Live Action reported:

The newspaper… also had harsh words to say about the dissection of fetal brain tissue with children present, noting that UNM leadership used the title “Neuroscience Summer Experience” to explain why faculty members were ready to dissect those whole fetal brains in front of children. The paper writes:

[S]omehow trying to draw a distinction between that and the term “summer camp” – is inappropriate at best and barbaric at worst.

The full report from the House Select Panel, referring the university for criminal charges in possible violation of  New Mexico’s Spradling  Act, includes lab procurement notes that explicitly say fetal brains were used for summer camp dissections, as well as internal documents and letters between faculty at the university and abortion facilities. Thus far, there’s been no word from Attorney General Hector Balderas on his response to the recommendation to file criminal charges.

Elisa Martinez, who leads NMAFL, told Live Action News

The video of UNM Health Sciences chief administrator Paul Roth casually describing the dissection of fetal brains for a summer camp is not only disturbing, but illustrates the alarming ethical and potential legal violations the University of New Mexico has been involved in.  How, in accordance with federal regulation were women informed of their infant’s aborted brains to be used for dissection with summer camp students, how was activity involving human brains approved and deemed appropriate by the University, were the parents of the children who witnessed the “dissection” informed, and UNM has stated in our previous open records requests that the aborted infant body parts are not kept in a tissue bank, but now they are claiming they brains were taken from their tissue bank.  Many more questions remain, as UNM continues to stonewall inquiries, while making contradictory claims about their aborted infant harvesting and experimentation, in collaboration with late-term abortionist Curtis Boyd.

Matrinez added:

Sadly, the video serves to corroborate UNM Health Sciences “Procurement Notebook” that detai how aborted infant brains at 7 months gestation were ordered by a UNM researcher to “dissect w/summer camp students,” — the video is unedited and clearly illustrates the depravity of these practices.

The Panel’s initial letter referring the university and SWWO for possible criminal charges, also suggests “further investigation is warranted into whether UNM or SWWO also violated 42 U.S.C. § 289g-2, a federal statute that makes it a 10-year felony to receive valuable consideration in exchange for human fetal tissue.”

The most recent House Select Panel report includes more information on UNM and also expands to include other universities involved in the market of aborted fetal parts in medical research.