WORCESTER—A lawsuit against Clearway Clinic in Worcester claiming it engages in unfair and deceptive acts is moving forward after a Worcester Superior Court judge denied the center’s motion to dismiss the case.
In June 2023, a plaintiff identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit claiming that the clinic’s deceptive practices led to a missed ectopic pregnancy diagnosis which later ruptured, caused massive internal bleeding, and required emergency surgery to treat, according to court documents. The plaintiff is seeking relief in the case.
Clearway Clinic, which describes itself on its website as a state-licensed medical clinic with a team of board-certified doctors and nurses, filed a motion to dismiss the suit claiming that “as a nonprofit entity providing services in furtherance of its mission, it is not engaged in ‘trade’ or ‘commerce’ as required for liability under the consumer protection statute,” according to court documents.
In a ruling filed on Jan. 24, Superior Court Judge Sharon Donatelle denied the motion to dismiss the case saying that with the limited information in front of her, Jane Doe plausibly stated a claim for recovery because the services Doe alleges she was provided could reasonably be found to have been provided in a business context.
Finding that the services were not provided in a business context would require “a fact specific analysis into the business practice and motivations of the defendant which cannot be done at this stage of the litigation,” Donatelle ruled.
Doe claims Clearway Clinic is a crisis pregnancy center.
Crisis pregnancy centers are often established by groups with anti-abortion stances and are recognized for providing information that encourages individuals to continue their pregnancies rather than seeking abortions.
In the lawsuit, Doe claims that Clearway Clinic “misleads patients, through its advertising, medical documentation, and informational materials, that it will perform ultrasounds to determine the viability of intrauterine pregnancy. These statements are false, as the ultrasounds performed do not meet standard levels of medical care, which cause misdiagnosis, including in Plaintiff’s case failing to identify a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.”
In a statement at the time the lawsuit was first filed Clearway Clinic CEO Jill Jorgensen said the clinic could not speak to any individual’s medical claims or history due to HIPAA regulations.
“Clearway Clinic has served more than 10,000 women and their families in the Worcester area for the past 22 years at no cost and have never had a complaint like this in the past,” the statement continued. “We hope to continue to provide needed services to women and their families in Massachusetts for many more years.”
In Worcester, some city councilors attempted to regulate crisis pregnancy centers, also known as pregnancy resource centers, last year with ordinances that would fine centers for using deceptive practices and require them to post information about the services they offer and whether the center is a licensed medical facility.
The council voted to file the draft ordinances in a 7 to 4 vote, meaning the council would no longer consider them, in October 2023. The vote came after City Solicitor Michael Traynor told the council he did not believe the ordinances would survive a First Amendment challenge, with the second ordinance in particular amounting to “government required speech.”
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford, and Antigua and Barbuda. Her work has been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive, and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
