According to new data from Texas Health and Human Services on “induced terminations of pregnancy,” just 68 abortions were performed in July, down from 2,596 in June. An average of 2,854 abortions were performed each month in the first half of 2022.
This means that abortions fell dramatically in Texas in response to the June 24 ruling even before the Human Life Protection Act or “trigger ban” went into effect on August 25.
Under the ban, abortion is outlawed except for procedures to save the mother’s life or prevent substantial bodily impairment, categories that include removing miscarried children and ectopic pregnancies.
Violation is punishable by five to 99 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000; medical professionals can have their licenses suspended; and the attorney general may seek civil fines of up to $100,000.
The law applies to everyone who aids or assists in the performance of an abortion except the mother herself.
From January through July, there were 17,194 abortions performed in Texas. 301 were performed for “out-of-state or unknown residents.”
Over three-fourths of those were performed on women between the ages of 20 and 34, while around 17 percent were above that age range and 7 percent were below.
Around 61 percent of abortion recipients in 2022 had never had an abortion before, and less than 5 percent had three or more in their past.
There was a similar drop in abortions after the Texas Heartbeat Act went into effect on September 1, 2021, falling 60 percent from the previous month.
The Heartbeat Act made it illegal to perform an abortion on a child with detectable cardiac activity, which typically develops around the sixth week of pregnancy. It also excludes instances to save the life of the mother or prevent bodily impairment and exempts the mother from civil action.
Last Thursday, a state judge dismissed a Heartbeat Act lawsuit for lack of legal standing because the plaintiff was not “directly impacted” by the abortion.
Just 14 of the over 17,000 abortions in Texas this year through July were performed more than eight weeks after fertilization.
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