Texas abortion: Doctor sued in first known challenges of new law

A Texas doctor who admitted to breaking the state's new abortion legislation has been sued, in what could be a test of how lawful the mandate is.

Writing for the Washington Post, Alan Braid said he had carried out a termination on a woman who was in the early stages of her pregnancy but "beyond the state's new limit".

Former lawyers in Arkansas and Illinois filed lawsuits against him on Monday.

The new legislation bans abortions from as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law came into effect on 1 September, giving any individual - from Texas or elsewhere - the right to sue doctors who perform an abortion past the six-week point. However it does not allow the women who get the procedure to be sued.

The law bans terminations after the detection of what anti-abortion campaigners call a foetal heartbeat, something medical authorities say is misleading.

Dr Braid, who has been practising medicine for nearly 50 years, wrote in an opinion column published on the weekend: "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.