Topline
The first Texas doctor to be sued by the new state law banning abortions in large numbers filed Tuesday his own lawsuit against three individuals who brought the lawsuit. He sought to combine all the lawsuits and declare the law unconstitutional.
Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas - September 11, 2011 - Abortion rights activists gather at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Getty Images
The Key Facts
The Center for Reproductive Rights supported Dr. Alan Braid in filing the lawsuit in federal court in Illinois. Braid is currently the subject of three separate lawsuits. Oscar Stilley and Felipe N. Gomez separately sued Braid under Texas Senate Bill 8(SB 8). This allows private citizens to enforce the law by filing lawsuits against anyone who aids or abets abortion. Braid published an opinion in the Washington Post declaring that he had broken the law. The article was intended to start litigation to have the measure repealed. Braid requested the court to decide which plaintiffs, if any, are entitled to damages of at least $10,000. This is because SB 8 provides that citizens who win such lawsuits can recover $10,000. Braid wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post stating that he had violated the law. The lawsuit also argues that the doctor should not be allowed to pay $10,000 in damages but retain the funds. Braid asked the court to declare SB 8 unconstitutionalarguing it violates the due process and equal protection clauses, the right to free speech and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other federal measuresand block any future litigation that could be brought against him under the law.
Important Quote
Dr. Braid today filed suit to stop vigilante plaintiffs from stopping Braid's abortion ban. He shouldn't have been required to take legal risks to provide constitutionally protected abortion services. This legal limbo is too long and must be ended.
Important Background
SB 8 would ban nearly all Texas surgical abortions after six weeks of a woman's pregnancy. This would stop an estimated 85% state abortions. Braid stated in the Post that he performed an abortion on a woman past the deadline in order to help her. He also said that he wanted to ensure that Texas doesn't allow unconstitutional laws to be tested. Braid's lawsuits are in addition to other litigation brought by abortion providers and U.S. Department of Justice seeking to have the law revoked. The SB 8 lawsuit enforcement mechanism was created to make it easier to invalidate the law in court. However, the state can argue that it cannot be sued because it is not enforcing it. Therefore, legal challenges under SB 8 such as those against Braid may be the most effective way to challenge the law's constitutionality.
Surprising Fact
Texas Right to Life (an anti-abortion group that helped draft SB 8), has disavowed the lawsuit against Braid so far and said it will not sue the doctor. The organization stated that neither of these lawsuits is valid attempts to save innocent human life after the two first lawsuits filed against Braidby Stilley or Gomezwere. It called the litigation self-serving legal maneuvers and abusing the Texas Heartbeat Act's cause of action for their own ends.
Continue reading
First private citizen to be sued under Texas Abortion Law is Doctor Who Publicly Admitted to Performing Abortion (Forbes).
Opinion: Why I broke Texas' extreme abortion ban (Washington Post).
Why Texas Abortion Opponents Aren't Suing Dr. Alan Braid over New Law (Wall Street Journal).
