AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texans who sought an abortion out of state greater than quadrupled between 2021 and 2023 after a state regulation went into impact that bans the process in virtually all instances.
Information from the Texas Well being and Human Providers Fee (HHSC) reveals a minimum of 7,844 Texas residents acquired an abortion in a unique state in 2023, up from 4,718 in 2022 and 1,712 in 2021. Nonetheless the whole variety of abortions for Texas residents dropped by 85 p.c in comparison with 2021.
In 2023, simply 62 abortions have been reported in Texas, all as a result of medical emergency and/or to protect the well being of the mom. In 2024, 76 abortions have been carried out within the state, in keeping with the HHSC knowledge.
Texas receives reviews from different states by way of the State and Territorial Alternate of Very important Occasions, a public well being reporting system maintained by the Nationwide Affiliation for Public Well being Statistics and Info Programs.
Reporting abortion knowledge to the system is voluntary, and never all states take part, in keeping with a HHSC spokesperson. Which means the whole quantity could also be greater than the 7,844 reported in 2023.
In truth, the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit that tracks entry to abortion, estimates the quantity to be nearer to 35,000. The group estimates 14,230 Texas girls traveled to New Mexico for an abortion in 2023, whereas 6,620 went to Kansas, 4,440 went to Colorado and three,310 went to California. An estimated 6,300 Texas girls went to different states.
In 2022, virtually 3,000 Texans acquired an abortion in Kansas, in keeping with official knowledge from the Kansas Division of Well being and Surroundings. That constituted a 1,178 p.c enhance from 2021, when simply 233 abortions have been carried out on Texas residents. Kansas has but to report knowledge for 2023.
HHSC doesn’t preserve knowledge on individuals who journey internationally to obtain an abortion.
The Supreme Court docket struck down Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 determination on June 24, 2022, eliminating the almost 50-year-old constitutional proper to abortion. The ruling gave states the authority to restrict or ban the process.
A set off regulation in Texas went into impact in August 2022, banning most abortions within the state. Abortion can be banned in neighboring Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, which means Texas girls who need the process should journey to states like Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.
