Hospitals not required to confirm newborns’ ID, prevent haunting switch alleged in Ochoa-Lopez case

Christ Medical Center won’t say how long Clarisa Figueroa was hospitalized — or when workers began to question whether she’d actually given birth.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. | Google Maps view — Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The woman accused of hatching a nightmarish plot to murder a pregnant teen and carve the fetus out of her womb showed “no signs” she had gone through labor when an ambulance took her to Christ Medical Center on April 23, authorities said.

Yet Clarisa Figueroa allegedly was able to pass off Marlen Ochoa-Lopez’s newborn as her own for weeks — and no laws or regulations are on the books to prevent such an outlandish crime.

Clarisa Figueroa (left) and Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. | Provided photos — Clarisa Figueroa (left) and Marlen Ochoa-Lopez.

”Unfortunately, there currently is no way for any regulating agency to ensure a baby belongs to the person presenting with the baby at the hospital,” said Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

”There are no rules or regulations under the Illinois Hospital Licensing Act or under the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that require hospital emergency department employees to verify the identity of a baby, or the person who brings a baby to the hospital.”

The situation is different when a baby is born at a hospital. Maternity wards typically have rigid procedures ensuring newborns are only left in the care of parents or approved guardians or caregivers.

During Figueroa’s bail hearing on Friday, Cook County prosecutors said the 46-year-old now charged with murder was examined in the birthing center at Christ, “but showed no signs consistent with a woman who had just delivered a baby.”

Citing patient privacy laws, Adam Mesirow, a spokesman for the Oak Lawn hospital, declined to say if Figueroa was formally admitted, how long she stayed or if she returned to visit the infant.

”Our top priority is to provide the safest and highest quality care for the patients and communities we serve,” a hospital statement read. “We have been cooperating with authorities and as this is an ongoing police matter, we’re referring all inquiries to local law enforcement.”

An obstetric technician cleaned blood from Figueroa’s arms, hands and face — all of which “was from the murder” of Ochoa-Lopez, prosecutors said — but it’s not clear whether anyone followed up about whether she’d actually given birth.

Photos taken at the hospital of the baby — who remains on life support in grave condition — were then used in a GoFundMe campaign started by Figueroa and her boyfriend seeking $9,000, according to prosecutors and the victim’s family.