Doctor who publicly defied Texas law by performing abortion has been sued

Dr Alan Braid of San Antonio became the first provider to reveal he violated the law in a Washington Post opinion piece

A San Antonio doctor who said he had performed an abortion in defiance of Texas's new law has been sued, setting up a potential test of the legality of the extreme, near-total ban on the procedure.

Former attorneys in Arkansas and Illinois filed lawsuits on Monday against Dr Alan Braid, who became the first Texas abortion provider to publicly reveal he violated the law when he wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post over the weekend. That piece all but dared supporters of the law to make an example by suing him, because it can only be enforced through private lawsuits.

Related: Texas doctor protests abortion law by admitting he carried out procedure