Texas judge tosses case against doctor who violated state abortion ban
A state district judge in Bexar County on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against a doctor who in 2021 publicly announced he had violated Texas' restrictions on abortion, ruling from the bench that a person does not have legal standing to sue if they haven't been directly affected by the abortion services provided.
Texas’ abortion ban remains in effect, and the dismissal did not strike down Texas law allowing private citizens to sue abortion providers. However, the ruling could set a precedent for other courts that will determine whether people can sue providers or others who “aid and abet” an abortion, lawsuits that Texas law began allowing last year.
The Washington Post last year published an opinion piece by Dr. Alan Braid, a physician formerly based in San Antonio who wrote that he provided an abortion to a woman who, though still in her first trimester, could not have terminated her pregnancy legally under the state's new limits.
"I wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested," Braid wrote.
Soon afterward, Felipe Gomez, a retired attorney in Illinois who is identified in court documents as a "pro-choice plaintiff," sued Braid. Others have sued Braid, but those suits have "fizzled out," said Marc Hearron, Braid's attorney.
Gomez plans to appeal, he told the American-Statesman on Thursday.
"I'm interested in making sure laws are correct and don't violate anybody's rights. ... Laws have got to be constitutional," Gomez said.
After the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Texas began enforcing multiple abortion bans. Under current state law, it is a felony to perform an abortion at any point in a woman's pregnancy, except to save the life of a pregnant patient or if the patient risks "substantial impairment" of a major bodily function. There are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
"It is heartbreaking that Texans still can’t get essential health care in their home state and that providers are left afraid to do their jobs," Braid said in a statement Thursday. "Though we were forced to close our Texas clinic, I will continue serving patients across the region with the care they deserve at new clinics in Illinois and New Mexico."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas abortion ban: Judge tosses case against doctor who violated law
