(RepublicanPress.org) – On September 18, San Antonio physician and abortion care provider Alan Braid, M.D., published an opinion piece in the Washington Post discussing his recent decision to violate Texas’ new abortion ban. As a result, two different individuals filed lawsuits against him under that new law, the Texas Heartbeat Act (SB8).
On Monday, September 20, former Arkansas attorney Oscar Stilley filed a civil complaint in Bexar County District Court. He told news agencies he opposed the law and wanted to be the first person to force the courts to consider its constitutionality. He also said he wanted to collect the $10,000 penalty if his case against Dr. Braid prevails. As a side note, Stilley is serving home confinement for an earlier tax fraud conviction.
The details of the civil suit against Alan Braid are as unusual as the law itself, which empowers private citizens to enforce the ban on abortion once cardiac activity has been detected — often as early as six weeks into pregnancy. https://t.co/qR6xxRZK7E
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 20, 2021
A second individual from Chicago, Illinois, Felipe Gomez, also filed a lawsuit against Braid. He referred to himself as “Pro-Choice Plaintiff” in his brief complaint and claimed the Texas law was “illegal as written and applied.”
The lawsuits represent the first opportunity to test the constitutionality of the Texas statute. Opponents of the measure filed for a temporary restraining order in the US Supreme Court. However, a majority of the court refused the petition on procedural grounds, leaving the underlying legal question unanswered. These lawsuits could force the courts to make that determination.
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