Abortion lawsuits target Texas doctor who says he broke the law

Both lawsuits were filed in San Antonio State Court and both men are representing themselves.

“None of these lawsuits are a valid attempt to save innocent human lives,” said John Seago, chief executive of Texas Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, which has lobbied for it. new abortion law. “Both cases are selfish legal stunts, abusing the cause of action created in the Texas Heartbeat Act for their own purposes.”

He added that he and others at Texas Right to Life “believe Braid published his op-ed with the intention of attracting reckless lawsuits.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights group that represents Dr Braid, said he had not been officially served and refused to make him available for an interview. In a statement, the group’s lead counsel, Marc Hearron, said Texas law “says” anyone “can sue for violation, and we are starting to see this happening, including by claimants outside of Canada. the State “.

In his opinion piece for The Post, Dr Braid said he decided to violate Texas law, which makes no exceptions for rape or incest, because he firmly believed in the right to ‘abortion. “I have daughters, granddaughters and nieces. I believe abortion is an essential part of health care, ”he wrote. “I have spent the past 50 years caring for and helping patients. I can’t stand idly by and watch us go back to 1972.

Mr Braid wrote that on the morning of September 6, he “induced an abortion in a woman who, although still in her first trimester, was over the new state limit.”

After reading this, Mr Stilley said he decided to file a complaint. His complaint includes a description of his own legal issues, which he said included a federal conviction for tax evasion and conspiracy; he was returned to house arrest after a decade in prison.

Mr Stilley said in the interview that he believes in a woman’s right not to have unwanted children, and that because her lawsuit was a win-win for him, he rushed to file it. .