The first abortionist in the state of Texas is facing a lawsuit for killing an unborn baby under the state abortion ban.
As LifeNews reported, Alan Braid, of the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio, admitted openly to his defiance Saturday in an essay published at the Washington Post.
Braid said he performed the illegal abortion on Sept. 6 because he “had a duty of care” to the mother. He said he also wants to see the pro-life law overturned in court.
“I acted because I had a duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care,” he wrote. “I fully understood that there could be legal consequences – but I wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested.”
The Texas heartbeat law went into effect Sept. 1, prohibiting abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy. Unique from other states, the Texas law includes a private enforcement mechanism that allows people to file lawsuits against abortionists who violate the law and those who help them.
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Now, for the first time, such a private lawsuit has been filed:
Oscar Stilley, a former lawyer in Arkansas who was convicted of tax fraud in 2010, filed a lawsuit in Texas state court against Braid to test the constitutionality of the law, according to the Post.
“If the law is no good, why should we have to go through a long, drawn-out process to find out if it’s garbage?” said Stilley, who told the paper he is not opposed to abortion but believes the law should be subject to judicial review.
The controversial legislation allows any individual to sue anyone who knowingly performs or aids an abortion after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Plaintiffs can earn up to $10,000 in damages through litigation.
“If the state of Texas decided it’s going to give a $10,000 bounty, why shouldn’t I get that 10,000 bounty?” Stilley said.
Texas is the first state to be allowed to enforce a heartbeat law, and pro-life leaders estimate as many as 100 babies are being saved from abortion every day.
According to the Daily Mail, the abortion that Braid performed was on a first-trimester unborn baby who had a beating heart.
Braid, who has been an abortionist for 45 years, said he saw a teenager die from an illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade in 1973.
“For me, it is 1972 all over again,” he wrote. “I have daughters, granddaughters and nieces. I believe abortion is an essential part of health care.”
Killing an unborn baby in an abortion is not health care or essential medicine. An abortion unnecessarily and intentionally destroys the life of a unique, living human being.
In 2020, about 54,000 unborn babies were aborted in Texas, and about 85 percent happened after six weeks of pregnancy, according to state health statistics. That means the new Texas law is saving as many as 100 babies’ lives every single day.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused Planned Parenthood’s and other pro-abortion groups’ request to temporarily block the law. Then, late last week, a federal judge refused to grant the Biden administration’s request to do the same.
However, the court battle is not over. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an appointee of pro-abortion President Barack Obama, is assigned to the case. He scheduled a hearing for Oct. 1.
Right now, the law is saving lives. While abortion activists say some women are traveling to other states for abortions, they admit that others are having their babies instead.
Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are reaching out to pregnant women across Texas with compassion and understanding, offering resources and emotional support to help them and their babies. Earlier this year, state lawmakers increased support for pregnant and parenting mothers and babies, ensuring that they have resources to choose life for their babies.
About a dozen states have passed heartbeat laws to protect unborn babies from abortion, but Texas is the first to be allowed to enforce its law. Whether the law will remain in effect or ultimately be upheld as constitutional in court remains uncertain, but pro-life leaders are hopeful now that the Supreme Court has a conservative majority.
