DALLAS (AP) — A San Antonio doctor who said he performed an abortion in defiance of a new Texas law has been sued by two people seeking to test the legality of the state’s near-total ba…
By JAMIE STENGLE DALLAS (AP) — A San Antonio doctor who said he performed an abortion in defiance of a new Texas law has been sued by two people seeking to test the legality of the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. Former attorneys in Arkansas and Illinois filed lawsuits Monday against Dr. Alan Braid, who in a weekend Washington Post opinion column became the first Texas abortion provider to publicly reveal he violated the law that took effect on Sept.1. Under the law, the restriction can only be enforced through private lawsuits. Oscar Stilley, who described himself as a former lawyer who lost his law license after being convicted of tax fraud in 2010, said he is not opposed to abortion but sued to force a court review of Texas’ anti-abortion law, which he called an “end-run.” “I don’t want doctors out there nervous and sitting there and quaking in their boots and saying, ‘I can’t do this because if this thing works out, then I’m going to be bankrupt,’” Stilley, of Cedarville, Arkansas, told The Associated Press. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. DALLAS (AP) — A San Antonio doctor who said he performed an abortion in defiance of a new Texas law has all but dared supporters of the state’s near-total ban on the procedure to try making an early example of him by filing a lawsuit — and by Monday, two people the only way the restrictions can be enforced. The state’s largest anti-abortion group said Monday that it’s looking into the matter after Dr. Alan Braid in a weekend Washington Post opinion column became the first Texas abortion provider to publicly reveal he violated the law that took effect on Sept.1. The law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, which is usually around six weeks and before some women even know they are pregnant.
