SAN ANTONIO (WBAP/KLIF News ) -A San Antonio judge dismissed the first lawsuit filed against a Texas doctor who intentionally violated the state’s controversial abortion law.
“Senate Bill Eight,” which which took effect in September 2021, allows anyone to sue a person who helps a woman get an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy for a bounty of ten thousand dollars.
In the ruling, State District Judge Arron Haas said people who have no connection to the banned abortion and have not been harmed by it do not have standing to bring these lawsuits.
The lawsuit against Doctor Alan Braid was filed by former Chicago attorney Felipe Gomez, who has no connection to Braid or the patient he served.
The Center for Reproductive Rights said its hopeful the ruling sets an important precedent in discouraging this types of lawsuits.
“This is significant win against S.B. 8’s bounty-hunting scheme because the court rejected the notion that Texas can allow a person with no connection to an abortion to sue,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “But this dismissal did not provide the opportunity to strike down S.B. 8 overall, and in the wake of the Dobbs decision, Texas is enforcing multiple abortion bans. As a result, pregnant Texans with life-threatening obstetric emergencies are being turned away from hospitals No one should have to be near death just to get the health care they need.”
Copyright 2021. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
