Where Texans traveled for abortions after Roe fell
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More than 35,000 patients left Texas to obtain an abortion last year, data estimates from the Guttmacher Institute show.
Why it matters: The numbers reveal the extent to which the abortion landscape has shifted two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
- Whether people should be allowed to travel for abortions, or even receive public money to do so, remains a hotly contested issue across Texas, from San Antonio to Amarillo.
The big picture: A divided Supreme Court issued the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision two years ago Monday.
Zoom out: Nationally, more than 171,300 patients traveled out of state for abortions last year.
- More than 1 million clinician-provided abortions took place in states without a total ban in 2023 — the first full year after the court overturned Roe. That's the highest number in more than a decade.
The intrigue: Last year, Florida served as an option for many people in Southern states with restricted abortion access.
- 1,150 people traveled from Texas to Florida for the procedure.
- But Florida has since instituted a new six-week abortion ban — one of the strictest in the nation — that has dramatically changed its role.
State of play: States like New Mexico and Kansas, within a day's drive from many places in Texas and other states with bans, saw big increases post-Roe.
- The percentage of abortion patients in New Mexico who traveled from out of state rose from 38% in 2020 to 71% in 2023.
- In Kansas, it rose from 52% to 69%.
By the numbers: New Mexico, a state that does not impose any term restrictions, received the most Texas travelers for abortions in 2023, at 14,200 patients, per the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports reproductive rights.
- Another 6,720 Texans traveled to Kansas for the procedure.
- 4,400 Texans obtained abortions in Colorado.
- And 3,580 Texans traveled all the way to California.
Zoom in: The Alamo Women's Clinic closed its San Antonio location and opened up shop in New Mexico after Texas' six-week abortion ban took effect in 2021, Spectrum News 1 reported. They later opened in Illinois as well.
- "The majority of the patients we see are Texans," Andrea Gallegos, of the Alamo Women's Clinic, told Spectrum.
- Whole Woman's Health, which closed abortion clinics in Austin, McAllen, Fort Worth and McKinney, also opened a clinic in New Mexico last year.
What we're watching: How the San Antonio City Council spends a $500,000 Reproductive Justice Fund. Many councilmembers have said they want some of the funds to go toward out-of-state travel for abortion.
- Anti-abortion groups sued over that possibility, but a judge dismissed it in April. The plaintiffs have appealed.
- The city will soon call for applications for the fund after a City Council discussion last week.