Abortions in Texas fell by 60 per cent in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. in decades, according to a n...
Abortions in Texas fell by 60 per cent in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. in decades, according to a new report by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The nearly 2,200 abortions reported by Texas providers in September came after a new law took effect that bans the procedure once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy, and without exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
In August, there had been more than 5,400 abortions statewide, and abortion numbers were consistently above 4,250 in the first seven months of 2021. Texas state health officials said more data will be released on a monthly basis.
The law, which sparked waves of protests across the U.S., has left many Texas patients traveling hundreds of miles to clinics in neighboring states or farther, causing a backlog of appointments in those places.
Planned Parenthood issued a statement calling the numbers 'the very beginning of the devastating impact' of the law as they saw 'a 1,082 per cent increase in patients with Texas zip codes seeking abortion compared to September 2019 and 2020.'
'It is unconscionable that thousands of Texans continue to be forced to travel hundreds of miles out of state to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and other farther states to access their fundamental right to safe, legal abortion,' the organization said.
Abortions in Texas dropped by about 60 per cent in September 2021, following the nation's most restrictive ban on the procedure
The controversial law sparked protests all across the country as people marched in support of women's reproductive rights in October and November
Protestors said the law would only make it harder for women to get save abortions in Texas. Planned Parenthood said it has seen a 1,082 per cent increase in the number of Texas patients visiting its clinics in neighboring states
The Trust Women Oklahoma City clinic reported it had seen 11 Texas patients in August, but once the ban took effect in September, the clinic saw 110 Texans in the first three weeks.
The Texas abortion numbers offer a fuller picture of the sharp drop in patients that Texas doctors have described in their clinics over the past five months, during which time courts have repeatedly allowed the restrictions to stay in place.
In December, the Supreme Court ruled to leave the ban in place as challenges were being litigated in lower courts.
The Texas law conflicts with landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings that prevent a state from banning abortion early in pregnancy. But it was written in a way that has essentially outmaneuvered those precedents.
Under the law, any private citizen is entitled to collect $10,000 or more if they bring a successful lawsuit against someone who performed or helped a woman obtain an abortion after the limit - which opponents have condemned as a bounty.
So far, no anti-abortion supporters have filed any suits.
With few options left, Texas abortion providers have acknowledged the law is likely to stay on the books for the foreseeable future.
The Trust Women Oklahoma City clinic is one of four abortion clinics in the state. They had 11 patients from Texas in August and has seen 110 since the beginning of September
The Supreme Court (nine justices pictured) rejected a request by abortion providers to have the case sent to a district judge who had previously moved to block the Texas law
Since the Texas law took effect, similar measures have been introduced in GOP-controlled statehouses nationwide, but none have passed. Arizona Republicans this month continued moving swiftly to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled a willingness to weaken or reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent in a ruling that is expected later this year.
If that happens, as many as 26 states would institute abortion-access restrictions within a year if permitted by the court, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
At least 12 states have 'trigger bans' on the books, with restrictions that would kick in automatically if the justices overturn or weaken federal protections on abortion access.
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