New research indicates that the number of abortions performed in Texas over the course of September 2021 decreased by about 50% - bringing the effect of the state’s near total ban on the procedure into stark relief, according to research from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project.
The data determined that the number of abortions also surged by 28 percent in August, likely reflecting the rush to secure reproductive care before the bill went into effect.
In its research, the project explains that the 4,313 abortions performed in September of last year collectively dropped down to 2,164 abortions performed in the same month this year.
The Texas abortion law, known as Senate Bill 8, amounts to a nearly complete ban on abortion in the entire state, which effectively bars the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. It is considered to be the most restrictive law allowed to be enforced since the 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalized abortion in the U.S.
Shortly after advancing through the legislature, the Texas law sparked national and international outrage as it provides no exceptions for rape or incest - while also permitting anyone in the country to sue anyone who assists a person in getting the procedure after six weeks.
The Supreme Court is set to hear two challenges to the law next month, according to Axios.
As the number of abortions performed in Texas continue to drop, abortion facilities in neighboring states are reporting a massive increase in out-of-state patients coming in to seek abortion care after it was effectively outlawed in their home state.