dr alan braid said this, he said... "0n the morning of september 6th, i provided an abortion to a womanond the state's new limit. and i acted because i had a duty of care to this patient, as i do to all patients." so i'm just asking you, is your law, you use the phrase "straw man", is your law serious, or is your law some sort of political posture that you're not actually intending to implement? if you have read any news reports from america or watched anything or, for that matter, from bbc, and talked to abortion providers writ large, they've told us they have scaled back. most of the clinics say they have scaled back considerably because the heartbeat law is in effect. i read the column from the doctor you're talking about — and that's being investigated. i'm not sure if anything's been filed, but i've read that. and again, that's how this works — if the abortion industry responds and follows the law, there won't be lawsuits. if they continue to take little babies' lives who have a foetal heartbeat, then there will be lawsuits. are you working with lawmakers in other red states — repu

alan braid opened the door to the lawsuits when he told the "washington post" 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. the two plaintiffs are disbarred attorneys from out of state. and neither claim to be anti-abortion. one was previously convicted of tax fraud in arkansas. >> in some ways, this is a plaintiff who makes perfect sense in light of the way the law is drafted. no connection to the issue, no connection to the parties. no connection as far as we can tell in the complaint to texas at all. and yet, may well have the ability, the way the law's drafted, to go to court and to have the court actually hear his case. >> reporter: the new law bans abortions once a heartbeat can be detected in the embryo, which is typically six weeks before many women know they're pregnant. the law calls for private citizens to report anyone who helps a woman get an abortion and rewards them with $10,000 for reporting the crime. a former attorney from chicago says he wants to prove the law is unconstit

alan braid, a san antonio violation, said he provided an abortion to a woman in her first trimester.the new limit. he said he acted, quote, because he had a duty of care to this patient and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care. he added that he was fully aware there could be legal consequences. >>> the "associated press" says california firefighters are scrambling to protect a grove of giant ancient sequoia trees. yesterday flames reached one grove where the trail of 100 giant sequoias is a national monument. firefighters battle to keep the blaze from driving further into another grove of 2,000 sequoias. that's where the base of the world's largest tree known as the general sherman and other trees have been wrapped in protective foil. >> it's fairly unusual to use structure wrap to protect natural resources, but that is a good indicator of how precious these particular trees are in this operation. >> fire officials say hot, dry weather and stronger winds were contributing to critical fire conditions. >>> and here's something that will knock your socks off. espn sa

alan braid opened the door to the lawsuits when he told "the washington post," i acted because i hady of care to this patient, as i do for all patients and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care. the two plaintiffs are disbarred attorneys from out of state and neither claim to be anti-abortion. one was previously convicted of tax fraud in arkansas. >> in some ways this is a plaintiff who makes perfect sense in light of the way the law is drafted. no connection to the issue, no connection to the parties, no connection as far as we can tell from the complaint to texas at all and yet may well have the ability the way the law is drafted to go to court and to have the court actually hear his case. >> reporter: the new law bans abortions once a heartbeat can be detected in the embryo, which is typically six weeks before many women know they're pregnant. the law calls for private citizens to report anyone who helps a woman get an abortion and rewards them with $10,000 for reporting the crime. the supreme court's roe v. wade decision in 1973 gave women the right to choose a

alan braid. dr. braid says he feels like he's in 1972 all over again.ow that texas has the ban in texas. that's the way of enforcing the new ban in texas, have private citizens sue. the last part, the vigilante law in texas, that's part of the reason dr. braid knows he knowingly and openly violated the texas abortion ban a few weeks ago. he did it to try to stress-test the legality of it in court. he writes, quote, i fully understood there could be legal consequences but i want to make sure texas didn't get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested. and, of course, tested it will be. after that public admission, dr. braid has now indeed been sued by a private vigilante who is exercising his new established right under this texas law to bring the doctor to court. the man suing dr. braid is not from texas. he is a conflicted felon. he says he's a disbarred lawyer. he's currently serving out his criminal sentence on house arrest. he has no obvious connection to the abortion at all. in fact, doesn't even say he's nec

alan braid said he performed the abortion after the law went into effect september 1st.column, quote, i fully understood there could be legal consequences but i wanted to make sure texas didn't get away with this blatant unconstitutional law from being tested. the ceo joins us now along with jeffrey tube in. nancy, i appreciate you being with us. why did your client think it was an important step to stand up to this law by violating it? >> well, dr. braid has been providing health care to women for almost five decades. and he's used to being able to give his patients options. and with the texas law in place, he is having to turn most of his patients away. the offers he has for them is untenable. needing to travel out of state, which many cannot do even if there are means for them to be able to leave the state financially, so he feels as a doctor who has been providing care for years that it's important to challenge this blatantly unconstitutional law that is creating havoc on health care in texas. >> key lcould he lose his licen? >> an anti-abortion group has filed a com

alan braid made the admission in an article for "the washington post."cted 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. 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." dr. braid went on to recall how he was in medical school in 1972, a year before the supreme court's roe v. wade ruling guaranteeing the right to a safe and legal abortion. dr. braid wrote -- "at the hospital that year, i saw three teenagers die from illegal abortions. i can't just sit back and watch us return to 1972." for more on the attack on reproductive rights in texas, we are joined by dr. bhavik kumar. he is staff physician at planned parenthood center for choice in houston, texas. dr. kumar, welcome to democracy now! i have been reading so much about you. one article "growing up brown, gay, marginalized in a small texas town bhavik kumar inspired houst

alan braid oppose the texas law. one says he wants the judge to rule on the constitutionality.e doctor and he said he felt compelled to serve his patients. >> reporter: with the texas law in place, he is having to turn most of his patients away. the options he has for them are untenable. >> needing to travel out of state, which many cannot do even if there is means for them to be able to leave the state financially. and so he feels as a doctor who has been providing care for years, that it is important to challenge this blatantly unconstitutional law. >> supporters of the texas law call these lawsuits a publicity stunt. >>> schools and health departments are bracing for a possible twin demic with flu in the middle of a raging pandemic. last year the levels of flu were actually low, but many doctors fear that's all about to change. here's cnn's jacqueline howard. >> reporter: christine and laura, flu really is unpredictable, so we don't really know what to expect. but the american college of emergency physicians says there are early signs that the coming flu season could be seve

alan braid of san antonio. dr.gton post" op-ed that he defied the law because he believes he has a, quote, duty of care to all patients who come to him. he is being sued by two strangers. don't forget, this law offers up to a $10,000 bounty for successful lawsuits against anyone who deies it. one lawsuit was brought by oscar stilley. he is a disbarred lawyer from arkansas who is on home arrest after being charged with conspiracy. he says, i am not pro life. i am trying to vindicate the law. the other one is named gomez and said the texas law is unconstitutional. we have leader of the central group of women's rights. also with us is former prosecutor and child advocate wendy murphy. she is professor of law in boston. wendy, what does it say about the state of things and this texas abortion law that suits are being brought by a disbarred lawyer and a convicted felon who is serving out the remainder of his 15-year sentence on home confinement? >> let's just say i wouldn't have picked either of them to be our represent

alan braid titled why i violated texas' extreme abortion ban.tion against the san antonio-based physician because that's what the texas law allows them to do, but anti-abortion groups aren't necessarily happy about this development. texas right to life which is an anti-abortion organization which has been a proponent of the bill calls the lawsuit bogus. quote, neither of these lawsuits are valid attempts to save human lives and both are self-serving legal stunt abusing the cause of action created by the texas heartbeat act for their own purposes, end quote. i for one am very confused by this and when i'm confused about a legal matter i call in joyce vance, she's an msnbc contributor. joyce, can you please tell me what's going on here? the law provided for people to sue people who engaged in abortion activity in texas. two people sued this guy and now anti-abortion groups are saying that the lawsuits are bogus. what's happening? >> i suppose it's a case of be careful what you ask for, ali. the texas statute is drafted very broadly. it permits any

alan braid, who came forward to say he provided an abortion to the woman who was beyond the six-week. the former lawyer who brought the suit says he's not opposed to abortion, but wanted the law -- we will be watching that case very closely. a quick break for us. we'll be right back. y closely. a quick break for us we'll be right back. you need an ecolab scientific clean here. and here. which is why the scientific expertise that helps operating rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. look for the ecolab science certified seal. at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from '73. and even his kids. and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their families. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join. >>> thank you so much. we're grateful. "the beat" starts right now. hi, jason. >> hi, nicolle. welcome to "the