The Texas Medical Board director’s resignation earlier this year amid complaints he worked on the side at Planned Parenthood South Texas for 13 years while policing the industry still has aftershocks.
Hired by the state medical licensing agency in 2012, Dr. Robert Bredt submitted his resignation on Jan. 7 after two state lawmakers called on Gov. Greg Abbott to fire him for unethical conduct.
Dr. Bredt, 62, wrote in a letter to the board that he felt “forced to retire/resign” several years before he’d hoped to end his professional career.
“It seems a shame that political pressure from a fringe group has jeopardized that career,” he said.
State Reps. Briscoe Cain and Brian Harrison, both Republicans, called for the pathologist’s ouster in December after legal filings revealed he also worked part-time since 2011 as medical director of Planned Parenthood South Texas Laboratory in San Antonio.
Mr. Harrison, who oversaw the first Trump administration’s pro-life policies as chief of staff of the Department of Health and Human Services, is now considering legislative options to defund the medical board over the dual employment and for failing to discipline doctors who violate the state’s ban on sex-change procedures for minors.
“We can’t keep letting the fox guard the henhouse,” Mr. Harrison, who represents a suburban district south of Dallas, told The Washington Times. “This was a profound conflict of interest because the Texas Medical Board regulates Planned Parenthood doctors in a state that has been pro-life for decades.”
While the governor appoints members of the Texas Medical Board, its leadership hired Dr. Bredt to help address complaints about providers and ensure quality care.
A spokesperson for Mr. Abbott, a Republican, referred The Times in an email to the board for comment on “individual personnel matters.”
The board and Planned Parenthood South Texas didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider but no longer terminates pregnancies in Texas due to state restrictions enacted in 2021 and 2022. The organization says its Texas clinics now offer birth control, pregnancy testing, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and “gender-affirming health care” for transgender patients.
During a state House committee hearing in February, Texas Medical Board officials said they didn’t know about Dr. Bredt’s second job and pledged to implement annual reviews to prevent future conflicts of interest.
They said they learned about Dr. Bredt’s work for Planned Parenthood from a social media backlash over its inclusion in a curriculum vitae addition to a Dec. 23 court filing.
In that filing, the board’s legal team sought to include Dr. Bredt as an expert witness against a doctor accused of prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients and defying vaccine mandates.
“Sir, I did not know, and I don’t believe our executive counsel, general counsel or any of our leadership knew either” about Dr. Bredt’s moonlighting, Christopher Palazola, an attorney who serves as the board’s deputy executive director, told Mr. Harrison at February’s hearing.
Mr. Palazola said the dual employment “would not have had any impact in how we would have conducted any investigations or taken any actions.”
Mr. Harrison, who estimates that Dr. Bredt took in more than $2 million from his $185,000 yearly salary, rejected the board’s claim that its lawyers didn’t read the resume they included in court filings.
“At the same time, they’ve prosecuted doctors for not having politically correct COVID-19 mask regulations,” the lawmaker said in a phone call. “This is a rogue state agency that needs to have its wings clipped. People need to be fired and have their authority taken away.”
Nevertheless, he said House Republicans have been unable to confirm any specific conflicts of interest in Dr. Bredt’s work for the board.
Marcella Burke, a Houston attorney appointed by Mr. Abbott to serve in the Texas General Land Office, said Dr. Bredt’s moonlighting raises the question of whether the medical board favors Planned Parenthood’s agenda over the interests of Texans.
“This is a big scandal,” Ms. Burke said. “The Texas House or attorney general should investigate the TMB for possible conflicts of interest, top to bottom, to make sure other members don’t have similar conflicts.”
The website for Planned Parenthood South Texas lists Frontera Fund, which it describes as a group that “helps Texans access out-of-state abortion care,” among its community partners.
Mark Lee Dickson, founding director of Right to Life Across Texas, said that connection requires a probe into whether Dr. Bredt used his board position to help the organization get around state abortion restrictions.
“Anyone who holds such a significant position and simultaneously works at Planned Parenthood sends a strong message,” Mr. Dickson said. “While the Planned Parenthood affiliates no longer perform abortions in Texas, the organization is partnered with groups like Frontera Fund to keep their vision of abortion access alive.”
The Times has been unable to reach Dr. Bredt for comment.
The resume included in court filings described him as a professor, consultant and laboratory inspector who has also worked for Genics Laboratories in Las Vegas and San Antonio since 2022.
In a Jan. 28 statement to the Austin American-Statesman, Planned Parenthood South Texas President Laura Terrill defended Dr. Bredt from what she called “an act of political theater.”
“We have, and always will, comply with state and federal regulations while focusing on what truly matters: delivering essential health care services to the tens of thousands of Texans who depend on us every day,” Ms. Terrill said.
