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A Texas doctor has revealed that he recently performed an abortion in violation of the state’s controversial new law which prohibits almost all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, arguing that he “had a duty of care towards this patient.
Alan Braid, a San Antonio-based doctor, wrote in an editorial published Saturday by the Washington Post that on September 6, just five days after the Texas abortion ban went into effect, he “provoked an abortion to a woman who, although still in her first trimester, was beyond the new state limit.
Braid, who began his obstetrics and gynecology residency at a San Antonio hospital in 1972, said that in the year before abortion was recognized as a constitutional right in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, he saw “three teenagers die from illegal abortions.
Following the Supreme Court ruling earlier this month not to block Texas’ new abortion law, Braid wrote, “For me, it’s still 1972.”
The doctor said he has practiced obstetrics / gynecology for more than four decades, “performing Pap smears, pelvic exams and pregnancy exams, delivering more than 10,000 babies and providing abortion care in hospitals. clinics that I have opened in Houston and San Antonio, and another in Oklahoma.
He went on to say that Texas’ new law, known as SB 8, “shut down about 80% of the abortion services we provide.”
Texas’ Fetal Heart Rate Act prohibits all abortions after heart activity is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks pregnant, before many people know they are pregnant.
Although the law provides exceptions for medical emergencies, it does not apply to pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and also allows virtually any private citizen to take legal action against a victim. person who has performed or assisted in performing an abortion procedure.
People who sue have the opportunity to earn $ 10,000 for successful lawsuits.
Braid wrote on Saturday that while he “fully understood that there could be legal consequences” for his decision, he “wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its attempt to prevent this law from happening. manifestly unconstitutional be tested “.
The doctor, who noted that his clinics were among the plaintiffs represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights in the federal lawsuit to end the Texas abortion ban, added he believed “abortion is an essential part of health care “.
“I have spent the past 50 years caring for and helping patients,” he continued. “I can’t just sit back and watch us go back to 1972.”
The Biden administration has already pledged to fight Texas law, with the Justice Department filing a petition this week seeking either a preliminary injunction or a temporary prohibition order that would prevent the ban from coming into force.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Friday it would take action to protect abortion patients and providers in Texas, including providing up to $ 10 million in grants to clinics that have saw an increase in demand following the implementation of the law.
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