Abortions in Texas fell by 50% in the first month after enactment of the state’s new abortion law that bans the procedure after fetal cardiac activity is detected, according to a study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas, Austin.
SB 8 took effect at the beginning of September, banning abortions through a civil enforcement mechanism that allows citizens and private groups to sue. Women who obtain an abortion cannot be sued, but those who “aid or abet” her can be sued for $10,000 and legal fees.
The study’s conclusions contrast sharply with predictions made by abortion providers in an emergency motion to the Supreme Court days before Sept.1. In the motion, the providers said abortions would reduce access to 85%.
“If permitted to take effect, S.B. 8 would immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas, barring care for at least 85% of Texas abortion patients (those who are six weeks pregnant or greater) and likely forcing many abortion clinics ultimately to close,” the motion states.
Texas Alliance for Life, a Pro-Life organization, founder Joe Pojman said, “Contrary to our hopes, according to this study, abortions have dropped only 50% in Texas, not the 85% stated in the abortion provider’s court documents.”
In his statement, Pojman highlighted the alternative programs that the Legislature has provided the state through legislation.
“Meanwhile, nearly 200 providers under the state’s highly successful Alternatives to Abortion program offer a wide range of services to women with unplanned pregnancies for three years after the baby’s birth. The Legislature appropriated $100 million for the next two years for those services for 150,000 women per year,” he said.
The study obtained monthly data from 19 of the 24 Texas abortion providers. Those 19 providers performed 93% of abortions reported in the state. The study compared rates from 2020 to 2021.
According to the study the decrease is larger than the 13% decrease that occurred after the 2013 House Bill 2 that required physicians to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital if they were to provide abortions. The bill, resulted in a closure of over half of Texas abortion facilities.
“The number of abortions in Texas fell by half during the first 30 days after the implementation of Senate Bill 8. This is the largest documented decline in Texas over the last 10 years” the lead investigator of the project, Dr. Kari White, said. That helps explain “a surge of Texas patients” seeking care at clinics in neighboring states, White added.
That underscores how out-of-state facilities are being strained by the lack of access to services in Texas. The Dallas Morning News reported earlier this month that women were going out of state to obtain abortions traveling to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
The study came to these conclusions about out-of-state strain by examining rising waiting times at facilities elsewhere.
The state’s official data on abortions compiled by Texas Health and Human Services officials is expected to be released in February, according to the department’s website.
Texas Right to Life, a Pro-Life organization is encouraged by the findings, but is waiting for more official data to be released.
“We’re encouraged by these findings! The Texas Heartbeat Act saves lives every day. We’ll know more when the Department of Health and Human Services releases official data, but the Pro-Life movement has spent decades serving pregnant women in difficult circumstances, and we are blessed to be able to walk with these women through their journeys,” Kimberlyn Schwartz director of communication said.
Progress Texas, a progressive group in Texas, says the study shows that as predicted it’s enactment would be devastating to abortion access in the state.
“If this ban is allowed to stay in effect, the consequences we’re seeing are only the beginning. Patients in Texas are already straining capacity in neighboring states, and it will get worse if this law spreads. While a 50% decline is terrible enough, the only reason it was likely not larger is because of the commendable response from clinics, patients, and abortion funds — but that response is not sustainable over time,” said Diana Gomez, advocacy director with Progress Texas.
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on two cases against the law — Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas. The court is hearing the cases at an accelerated schedule not seen since Gore v. Bush.
