An Arkansas man Monday filed the first-ever case against the Texas doctor who publicly admitted to violating the state’s new six-week abortion ban.
Oscar Stilley, a man from Arkansas, filed a lawsuit against Dr. Alan Braid, a physician from San Antonio, who admitted to performing abortion procedures on a female patient who was way beyond the six-week mark just days after SB 8 or the Heartbeat Act took effect.
Braid, who started his obstetrics and gynecology residency at a San Antonio hospital in 1972, cited the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Roe v. Wade which recognized abortion as a constitutional right.
An opinion piece published in The Washington Post stated that he performed the illegal procedure on Sept. 6, because he believed he had “a duty of care to this patient.”
He wrote that the new abortion law feels like “it is 1972 all over again.” Stilley, the plaintiff, filed the case in Bexar County, Texas. In his complaint, he noted that Braid “knowingly performed this abortion contrary to the clear and unmistakable provisions of Senate Bill 8.”
He filed for a $100,000 case against Braid for violating the Texas abortion law. He reportedly called Braid’s office to asked the doctor if he “might repent for his ideology” but he “wasn’t able to secure any such agreement despite respectful efforts.”
Stilley’s complaint says, “Plaintiff on the morning on September 20, 2021, placed a call to the office of Defendant, to inquire whether or not Defendant might repent of his ideology as well as his deeds, and agree never to perform another abortion contrary to the enactments of the Texas legislature in general, and the requirements of Senate Bill 8 in particular, the Hill reported.
In his complaint, Stilley is also asking for an injunction that would bar Braid from performing future abortions that are in violation of state law.
In an interview, Stilley said that he is not personally against abortion procedures, but he thinks it needs to be tested. “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?” Stilley said.
He also said that he is interested in the portion of the law that offers as much as $10,000 for successful lawsuits related to the abortion restrictions. “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.
Also Read: Doctor Defies Texas Abortion Law, Risks Lawsuits For ‘Duty of Care’
