SAN ANTONIO (CN) — A pair of lawsuits targeting a Texas doctor who admitted to performing an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy were met with skepticism from anti-abortion groups leery of the first challenges to the state’s new ban on the procedure.
The Texas Heartbeat Act, passed by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature as Senate Bill 8, went into effect on Sept. 1 and prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks. It also includes a provision handing over enforcement power to private citizens to sue doctors, or anyone who “aids and abets” the procedure, with fines of at least $10,000 per violation.
That unique provision is poised to be tested in court for the first time after two out-of-state former attorneys filed separate lawsuits on Monday against Dr. Alan Braid after the San Antonio OB/GYN wrote in a Washington Post opinion column that he performed an abortion on Sept. 6 on a patient who was further along than six weeks.
“I acted because I had a duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care,” Braid wrote in his op-ed over the weekend. “I fully understood that there could be legal consequences – but I wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested.”
But Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion group involved in litigation over the law, is looking into Braid’s claims and distancing themselves from the pro se lawsuits against him.
“Texas Right to Life is suspicious that Braid’s op-ed is purely a legal and publicity ploy,” spokeswoman Kim Schwartz said in a statement, adding that the law includes a four-year statute of limitations for any violation.
The group said the lawsuits filed against the doctor by two disbarred attorneys – one from Illinois and the other under home confinement in Arkansas for felony tax fraud – did not come from the anti-abortion movement and neither are valid attempts “to save human lives.”
“Both cases are self-serving legal stunts, abusing the cause of action created in the Texas Heartbeat Act for their own purposes,” Schwartz said.
The Center for Reproductive Rights said it would defend Braid against any legal challenges. The abortion-rights advocacy group is already defending Braid's clinics in a separate lawsuit.
“Dr. Braid has courageously stood up against this blatantly unconstitutional law,’ CEO Nancy Northup said.
The law effectively banning abortions in Texas for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade became the most restrictive of its kind in the country after the high court allowed it to take effect earlier this month.
Along with an ongoing legal challenge from abortion providers, doctors and clergy, the Biden Justice Department has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the law.
On Tuesday, the law also drew condemnation from business leaders representing some 52 companies, including Yelp, Stitch Fix, Lyft, Ben & Jerry’s and VICE Media Group, saying it goes against their values and is bad for business.
“Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers,” the companies said in their letter.
The companies that signed onto the letter represent a combined workforce of more than 322,000 and revenue over $20 billion, according to the group’s website.
They say the economic losses from existing abortion restrictions already cost the state of Texas an estimated $14.5 billion annually.
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