New report reveals decline in abortions in Texas
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A drastic drop in Texas' abortion numbers last year directly correlated with restrictions to access, per a new report from the Society of Family Planning.
Why it matters: The data starkly reveals how last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the statewide abortion ban curtailed Texans' abortion rights.
By the numbers: Abortions performed by clinicians dropped from a monthly average of roughly 2,650 for April through June 2022 — the Dobbs decision was handed down June 24, 2022 — to 10 per month for July through December 2022, per the report.
Of note: A recently adopted ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy was in place in April 2022, so the numbers were already low.
- Roughly 50,000 to 55,000 Texans obtained abortions each year from 2014 to 2021, per the Texas Tribune.
Catch up quick: Dobbs triggered a near total abortion ban. It's now legal in Texas only to save a pregnant patient's life or to prevent "substantial impairment of major bodily function."
- Under the law, doctors could face life in prison and fines of up to $100,000 if they perform abortions.
- The law does not make exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will likely decide soon whether abortion pills — currently used in more than half of U.S. abortions — can remain legal nationally, after a Texas judge moved to force the Food and Drug Administration to pull its approval of a drug widely used in medication abortion.
- Texas' abortion ban includes a ban on medication abortion — except in cases to save the life of a pregnant patient.
What they're saying: "Texas women are currently relying on mifepristone being sent illegally into the state of Texas and allowing them to self-manage abortion," Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas who studies health law and equality, tells Axios.
- Plus, some Texans rely on other states, such as New Mexico, for access to medication abortion, Sepper says — and that access is at risk of being shut down, depending on how the court ultimately rules.
The bottom line: The GOP-led state of Texas is not stockpiling abortion pills like some Democratic-dominated states, leaving it to individual Texans to navigate increasingly limited access to abortion options.