The Texas Medical Board’s longtime medical director resigned after revelations of his deep ties to the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
Robert Bredt, 62, submitted retirement paperwork days after state lawmakers demanded his immediate termination upon learning of his 13-year employment with a Planned Parenthood-affiliated center in San Antonio.
The discovery came to light in a December2024 court filing where the board sought to name Bredt as an expert witness in a case. The filing included the Planned Parenthood affiliation.
Pro-life leaders hailed the move as a long-overdue victory in cleaning up what they called a “shocking ethical conflict” that allowed an abortion activist to lead the state’s medical board.
“This presents a shocking ethical conflict,” Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said. “And it explains why Operation Rescue’s complaints against shoddy abortion facilities and dangerously irresponsible abortionists in the state of Texas have fallen flat for more than a decade.”
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Bredt, in a bid for reinstatement heard by the board last week denied any wrongdoing and accused Abbott and lawmakers of ignoring the nature of his part-time work. He insisted the board had granted “written and verbal approval” for the contract and that his duties involved only “fertility testing, checks for sexually transmitted infections and basic health services for low-income women,” never “abortions or handling aborted specimens.”
“I know that I did a good job for the board, I followed all of the rules, and that I had approval of the work that I was doing, helping others,” Bredt told the board at the hearing.
But pro-life advocates say nothing excuses working for the biggest abortion company in America.
Bredt and his attorney, Robert Schmidt, have requested reinstatement from Abbott’s office and the board, and are weighing legal action.
The governor’s office deferred comment to the agency, where spokesman Spencer Miller-Payne said in an email, “At this time, the Board does not have anything further to add regarding Dr. Bredt or the hearing last week.”
Bredt had served as the board’s medical director since 2012, earning an annual salary of $185,000 in his role overseeing complaints against medical providers and ensuring ethical standards. His résumé, included in the court filing, revealed he began working for Planned Parenthood South Texas in 2011 — before his state hiring — overseeing its laboratory operations.
State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Tyler, an Operation Rescue legal counsel, fired off a letter demanding Bredt’s “immediate termination” over the undisclosed ties to the abortion giant. The next day, State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, posted Bredt’s résumé on X and wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott, warning of the “bias risk” and threatening legislation to defund the board if Bredt wasn’t removed.
Harrison, a vocal critic of the agency, called for broader reforms, suggesting Abbott direct all state agencies to bar employees from working with Planned Parenthood to prevent similar conflicts.
“An investigation into the medical board and the executive branch’s hiring practices is in order,” Harrison said after Bredt’s retirement. He added he may still pursue a bill to defund the board.
Pro-life activists pointed to the episode as emblematic of deeper problems at the board, which they accuse of ignoring evidence of grave misconduct in abortion clinics when abortions were legal in Texas.
Cheryl Sullenger, Operation Rescue senior vice president emeritus, recounted submitting multiple complaints that went nowhere.
“We submitted a number of complaints to the Texas Medical Board, which at first seemed interested in pursuing them, but then suddenly stopped and dropped almost everything,” Sullenger said. “They gave no attention to the allegations that abortionist and sexual predator Doug Karpen was murdering babies born alive during abortions by twisting their heads off — even though four clinic workers came forward and were eyewitnesses and even photographed one of the victims.”
Karpen remains licensed to practice medicine in Texas.
Newman praised the lawmakers’ swift action, including support from Attorney General Ken Paxton, as a model for other states.
“Since Bredt worked for Planned Parenthood before he was hired by the medical board in 2012, it is certainly difficult to believe the state-funded agency was not aware of this blatant ethical breach,” Newman said. “I’m grateful for the work of Cain, Harrison, Attorney General Ken Paxton and others in Texas who are working to clean up the swamp in the Lone Star State. I hope to see other states take note and do likewise.”
