A protester prays ahead of a Journey of Life in North Texas, commemorating the passage and court rulings in favor of a Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, on Jan.
Shafkat Anowar / The Dallas Morning New / via AP
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Shafkat Anowar / The Dallas Morning New / via AP
A protester prays ahead of a Journey of Life in North Texas, commemorating the passage and court rulings in favor of a Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, on Jan.
Shafkat Anowar / The Dallas Morning New / via AP
AUSTIN, Texas — Abortion in Texas fell 60% in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the US in decades, according to new figures revealing the full immediate impact for the first time.
Nearly 2,200 abortions reported by providers in Texas in September came after New law comes into effect will ban the procedure after cardiac activity is detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy, and with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The figures were released this month by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
In August, there were more than 5,400 abortions statewide. State health officials say more data will be released monthly.
The numbers give a more complete picture of the sharp decline in the number of patients that Texas doctors have described in their clinics over the past five months, during which time courts have repeatedly allowed the numbers of patients. restrictions are maintained. It has caused some Texas patients to travel hundreds of miles to clinics in nearby states or beyond, causing a backlog of appointments in those places.
Planned Parenthood released a statement calling these numbers the “beginning of the devastating impact” of the law.
The Texas law contradicts landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings preventing a state from banning early abortion during pregnancy, but is written in a way that fundamentally goes beyond those precedents.
Under the law, any private citizen is entitled to $10,000 or more if they successfully sue someone who performed or helped a woman have a post-limit abortion – something opponents have condemned as bonus. To date, no anti-abortion advocate has filed a lawsuit.
With few options left, Texas abortion providers have conceded the law is likely to remain on the books for the foreseeable future.
It comes as the US Supreme Court has signaled its readiness to weaken or reverse the Roe v. Wade landmark in a ruling expected later this year.
