NAAG Pathology Labs has responded to a lawsuit filed against them on Monday by Rebecca Villarreal Ortiz.

The lawsuit accuses Lubbock Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Sam Andrews and Dr. Evan Matshes of performing an excessive autopsy last year when they harvested various organs of a 10-year-old girl without permission.

But according to KAMC News, a statement sent to them Tuesday morning by NAAG Pathology Labs says that the company stands by their decision to preserve those organs:

"As medical examiners our duty is to the victim of a crime to assure that evidence is available should the district attorney or a grand jury decide to pursue additional charges in a case.  If the evidence is destroyed it could make it impossible to achieve justice for the victim. Our responsibility to the community and the criminal justice system is to ensure that the cause and manner of death are proven correct, even when that process contradicts the wishes of family members. We stand by our decisions in this case."

Rebecca Villarreal Ortiz was the adoptive parent of a 10 year-old girl who died at a Lubbock hospital in September 2018 from complications related to a traumatic brain injury she incurred as a toddler. After passing away, the remains of the girl were put into the custody of NAAG Pathology Labs.

The Ortiz lawsuit is just one of several that have been brought so far against NAAG, the Lubbock Medical Examiner's office and Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Sam Andrews. The Texas Rangers are also conducting their own separate investigation into allegations that autopsies have been conducted unethically.

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