Abortions in Texas fell significantly during the initial months following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with the red state implementing resolute anti-abortion laws while Republican lawmakers are pushing forward more pro-life policies nationwide.
Only three abortions took place in Texas in August 2022, down from 2,596 in June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled
Roe v. Wade, according to
data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. This represents a 99.88 percent drop in abortions in a span of two months.
“Official report shows there were only three abortions reported in Texas in August 2022, all due to medical emergencies. We still have work to do to stop illegal abortions, especially pills trafficked over the border and online, but this shows life-saving progress,” Texas Right to Life, a pro-life organization,
stated in a tweet on Jan. 3.
After the Roe v. Wade judgment, a Texas trigger law banning abortions came into effect in late August. The law prohibits all abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger.
Back in September 2021, the state enacted the Texas Heartbeat Act that prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. In the first month of the law, abortions in the state had fallen to 2,251 compared to 5,706 abortions in August 2021.
Pro-Life Push
Meanwhile, House Republicans pushed ahead two pro-life measures on Jan. 11. The first was the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” passed with a vote of 220–210. The bill mandates that a child born alive after an abortion attempt be given the same degree of care that other children born prematurely receive.“A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both,” the
bill states.
“An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder.”
The second measure is a resolution passed by a vote of 222–209 that condemns the rise in attacks against crisis pregnancy centers (CPC), which are nonprofits that provide support, counseling, and resources to persuade women against abortions.
“Since the day that the Dobbs decision was illegally leaked, attacks against pregnancy centers, centers of worship, and other pro-life institutions have skyrocketed,” Rep. Harriett Hageman (R-Wyo.), one of the newest members of the House of Representatives,
said in a speech on the House floor, referring the leak of the
Roe v. Wade decision.
The congressman referred to the leaked draft of the majority opinion in
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which showed the U.S. Supreme Court’s intent to overturn the right to abortion as decided in
Roe v. Wade.
State Abortion Laws
As of Jan. 9, 12 U.S. states have enforced a near-total ban on abortion with very few exceptions: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy advocate for better sexual health and reproductive rights.
In Wisconsin and North Dakota, abortion is unavailable, even though no ban has been enforced. In Arizona, Georgia, Utah, and Florida, laws prohibit abortion after a certain number of weeks.
Abortion laws in Ohio, Wyoming, and Indiana are currently blocked by courts. Iowa, Montana, and Nebraska have indicated that they want to ban abortions.
In Nebraska, lawmakers proposed a bill that would prohibit abortions six weeks after pregnancy, which is roughly the time when a fetal heartbeat is detected. The “Nebraska Heartbeat Act” was introduced by Republican state senator Joni Albrecht together with other lawmakers.
In Virginia, Republican lawmakers have proposed banning abortion 15 weeks after pregnancy. Doctors who perform or assist in such abortion operations would have to face felony charges.
