Texas doctor publicly admits he violated the state’s new ‘heartbeat law’ by performing an abortion

In the course of the article, Braid, who is apparently not using a pen name, comments on how "there could be legal consequences" for his admission, but that he "wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested."

The article was published on Saturday afternoon on the Washington Post as an opinion piece, and talks about his trajectory as a doctor from 1972 through to the present day.

"Newly graduated from the University of Texas medical school, I began my obstetrics and gynecology residency at a San Antonio hospital on July 1, 1972," Braid opens up.

"At the time, abortion was effectively illegal in Texas — unless a psychiatrist certified a woman was suicidal. If the woman had money, we’d refer her to clinics in Colorado, California or New York. The rest were on their own. Some traveled across the border to Mexico."

"At the hospital that year, I saw three teenagers die from illegal abortions. One I will never forget. When she came into the ER, her vaginal cavity was packed with rags. She died a few days later from massive organ failure, caused by a septic infection."

Braid then goes on to opine that, due to the new laws, for him, "it is 1972 all over again."

"And that is why, on the morning of Sept. 6, I provided an abortion to a woman who, though still in her first trimester, was beyond the state’s new limit."

"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."

Braid concludes with "I have daughters, granddaughters and nieces. I believe abortion is an essential part of health care."

"I have spent the past 50 years treating and helping patients. I can’t just sit back and watch us return to 1972."

Under the current Texas law, which went into effect on Sept. 1 2021, abortions are now illegal once cardiac activity can be detected, which typically occurs around the sixth week of a pregnancy.

The law has been challenged, but a recent Supreme Court ruling found in the state of Texas's favor, and the law was upheld.