Skip to content
keine-ruhe

keine-ruhe

Extraordinary care

Primary Menu
  • Healthy Life News
  • Texas Health
  • Behavioral Health
  • Supplement
  • Health Disparity
  • Medical Device
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • sell your house fast jacksonville
  • Home
  • Texas’ restrictive abortion law previews a post-Roe America
  • Texas Health

Texas’ restrictive abortion law previews a post-Roe America

By Jefferey Metcalfe 3 years ago

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • The big pivot
  • Continuing to access abortion care
  • Abortion opponents feel unprepared

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

When Politico published a draft opinion leaked from the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, the nation confronted the reality that Roe v. Wade and constitutional protections for abortion may be overturned as soon as this summer.

But for many in Texas, that day is already here. The second-largest state in the country has been living under the nation’s most restrictive abortion law since Sept. 1, when legislators managed to skirt judicial precedent and ban all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

“We have been living the last eight months in a post-Roe Texas,” said Neesha Davé, deputy director of the Lilith Fund. “It has been absolutely devastating for people seeking abortion care … As we have been navigating this, we have learned a lot.”

Ad

Texas offers a glimpse of what the future holds for the dozens of other states that plan to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned — and for the people left to navigate those increased restrictions.

In the months since the law went into effect, pregnant Texans have flooded clinics in neighboring states and found ways to order abortion-inducing medication online, while others have carried unwanted pregnancies to term. Clinics have pivoted to helping shuttle people out of state, and abortion funds have struggled to keep up with the need.

“We definitely hear from our clients a lot of frustration about how they have to work to access this medical care,” Davé said. “And we know it’s just going to get harder from here.”

The big pivot

When Texas first passed its ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, abortion clinics leaped into action. They’ve been trying to beat back these sorts of restrictions for years now.

Ad

First, they filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state lawsuits seeking to block enforcement of the law.

While they waited on the courts, they tended to patients, providing their usual standard of care, right up until the moment the law went into effect. But when the clock struck midnight on Sept. 1, business as usual came to a halt. With one brief exception, clinics in Texas stopped providing abortions after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, usually around six weeks of pregnancy.

This is what experts anticipate will happen in the 26 states that intend to ban abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

“The clinics will shut down if abortion becomes illegal, at least as far as providing abortions,” said South Texas College of Law Professor Charles “Rocky” Rhodes, in an interview last month. “Just like we’ve seen with [Texas’ law], they will not … risk the criminal consequences. There will just not be legal abortion providers in these states.”

Ad

In Texas, all of the clinics that were operating at the time the law went into effect have continued providing abortions up to that six-week mark. They’ve relied heavily on donations and, in many cases, had to change their focus significantly.

Whole Woman’s Health operates four clinics in Texas and five in other states. After Texas’ law went into effect, it opened a clinic near the airport in Minneapolis. If Roe v. Wade were overturned, Minnesota is expected to be a “haven state” for abortion.

“Right now, we’re already seeing about 30% of our clients in our Minnesota clinic come from Texas,” said Wendy Brown-Spaulding, development director for Whole Woman’s Health Alliance. “And we’re expecting to see that number tick up drastically. But we’re definitely prepared.”

Whole Woman’s Health has also invested heavily in its new “wayfinding program,” which helps Texans get to one of its other clinics in states where abortion remains more accessible. They work with abortion funds to help patients pay for travel and related expenses.

Ad

Brown-Spaulding said it’s too soon to know what the future holds for the organization’s four clinics in Texas, but it’s clear that it is investing in building clinics — and helping people access those clinics — in states that are safer bets for abortion access.

Continuing to access abortion care

Early data indicated that the number of abortions in Texas had dropped by more than half after the new law went into effect in September. But over time, it’s become clear that pregnant Texans are still finding ways to access abortions — even if they have to travel long distances or violate the law to do so.

The New York Times analyzed two studies from the University of Texas at Austin and found that out-of-state abortions and online requests for abortion medication made up much of the gap for pregnant people who otherwise would have sought an abortion in the state.

Ad

The Texas Policy Evaluation Project found that nearly 1,400 Texans each month obtained abortions at clinics in just seven nearby states after the law went into effect. That’s nearly equivalent to the number of Texans who traveled out of state for abortion care in 2017, 2018 or 2019.

Another study from Abigail Aiken, a professor at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs, found that requests for abortion-inducing medication from an international reproductive rights nonprofit skyrocketed after the law went into effect. Texas passed another law in 2021 that made it illegal to prescribe these medications via telemedicine or provide them through the mail, but that didn’t stop more than 130 Texans a day from requesting these medications.

Ad

These studies do not take into account pregnant people who sought abortion-inducing medication from other sources, went over the border to Mexico for an abortion or otherwise terminated a pregnancy.

“It’s clear from this research and many studies that just because you make abortion harder to get, it doesn’t mean the need for abortion goes away,” Aiken told The Texas Tribune in February. “And many people, they will look for other ways of doing that.”

But access to abortion outside of Texas will become much more difficult if Roe v. Wade is overturned. More than half of all states intend to ban or severely limit abortion, according to reproductive rights research group The Guttmacher Institute.

“And these states are not randomly distributed,” said University of Texas at Austin law professor Liz Sepper. “This would effectively end abortion access, at least in people’s home states in the South and Midwest.”

Ad

Nearly half of all Texans who left the state to access abortion went to Oklahoma, according to the Texas Policy Evaluation Project research, which last month passed a total abortion ban that will go into effect this summer. This week, Oklahoma followed Texas in passing a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, which is similarly enforced through private lawsuits.

More than a quarter of Texans went to New Mexico, which is expected to continue to allow largely unfettered access to abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. But Las Cruces, the nearest city with an abortion clinic, is a 10- to 12-hour drive from most of Texas’ population centers.

“Folks who have resources will always be able to access the care they need, even if they have to jump over or navigate countless barriers to be able to do so,” Davé said. “But it is absolutely lower-income folks [and] people of color … who are disproportionately impacted by abortion bans.”

Ad

She said that’s what they’ve seen play out under Texas’ law, and that’s what they expect to see happen as restrictions tighten across the country.

“It’s logistically very difficult [to travel] when you are already caring for children, when you are working, when you don’t have paid time off of work,” she said. “We will absolutely see people who are forced to remain pregnant against their will.”

Abortion opponents feel unprepared

Some of those people will turn to crisis pregnancy centers, nonprofits that counsel pregnant people against abortion. Some provide counseling, job training and baby items; some have been accused of using deceptive practices to lure in vulnerable people looking for abortion care.

Texas has invested over $100 million into crisis pregnancy centers, more than any other state. Abortion opponents have argued that makes Texas more prepared to handle an increase in people carrying their pregnancies to term. The program has little government oversight.

Ad

Vincent DiCaro, chief outreach officer of Care Net, said the group’s 82 Texas crisis pregnancy centers have seen more clients since the law went into effect — and a different kind of client.

“They’ve had more clients that feel a little bit more desperate than they might have before that law passed, or feel sort of a little bit more pressure to make a decision,” he said.

DiCaro said this surge in demand in Texas has shown his organization that the current network of crisis pregnancy centers isn’t ready to meet the needs of the people they hope to serve.

“We think crisis pregnancy centers are awesome, of course,” he said. “But if that’s the only solution, we’re not going to have enough manpower to help all of the people who are going to need help if Roe v. Wade gets overturned.”

He would like to see churches step up and fill in that gap and points to the pregnant people continuing to seek abortions outside of Texas as evidence that they’re not doing enough to meet the need.

Ad

“We need to have that support network running at full steam, so that whenever somebody is facing an unplanned pregnancy and doesn’t know what to do, they know that there’s somebody that they can turn to in their community,” he said. “A lot of people that would consider themselves to be pro-life say that winning is overturning Roe v. Wade. … Our question is, are we actually prepared to win?”

Disclosure: Politico, New York Times, University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas at Austin – LBJ School of Public Affairs have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Help mission-driven journalism flourish in Texas. The Texas Tribune relies on reader support to continue delivering news that informs Texans and engages with them. Donate now to join as a Texas Tribune member. Plus, give monthly or yearly now through May 5 and you’ll help unlock a $10K match. Give and double your impact today.

Ad

Correction, May 4, 2022: A previous version of this story included a quote from Whole Women’s Health Alliance saying that the organization would pay for travel to its clinics. The organization now says an executive misspoke and that it works with abortion funds to help patients pay for travel but does not provide the funding.

Tags: 4 Better Health Monrovia, Academic Essay On Mental Health, Adult Family Health Clifton Nj, Adult Mental Health Treatment Planner, Allwgiance Health Wound Care, Aria Health Atten Customer Service, Aria Health System Customer Service, Arizona Achses Health, Arizona Pet Health Certificate, Ark Increse Harvest Health, Aus Health Practitioner, Cadence Fitness & Health Cente, California Coalition For Behavioral Health, Capital Area Mental Health Services, Cardinal Health Kilgour, Dr Borwn Watkings Health, Employee Health Inova Mount Vernon, First Nations Health Canada, Fl Health Code Violations, Formulary First Health, Holistic Health After Chemo, Humana Health Insurance For Son, I Health I-Menopause, Kronos Lee Health Employee Login, Lakeland Health Care Center Elkhorn, Mercy Health Corp Plaza, Mercy Health Orthopedics Cincinnati Logo, Network Health 2018 Plans, Nevada Reno Public Health, New England Serve Health Policy, North Dakota Pet Health Certificate, Northwell Health Pharmacy Intern Salary, Police Mentral Health, Portal Harrington Health, Premise Health Brentwood Tennessee, Primary Health Solutions/Ceo, Psychic Health Reading Legal Notice, Psychological Health Anxiety Articles, Public Health Practice What Works, Public Health Sciences Admin Uv, Public Health Service Hurricane Dorian, Shadyside Oh Occupation Health, Shrednado Mens Health, Tower Health Hospital Pa Locations, Unit 54 Uf Health Location, Urine Odor Health Problems, Whitman Walker Health Pamphlets, Women'S Health Affiliate Bloggers, Women'S Health Empowerment Summit, Young Professionals Attitude Of Health

Continue Reading

Previous SHAMARAN PUBLISHES SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS
Next Metro Detroiters to get virtual urgent care option for mental, behavioral health
June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • November 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • December 2016

Categories

  • Behavioral Health
  • Health
  • Health Disparity
  • Healthy Life News
  • Medical Device
  • Supplement
  • Texas Health

Recent Posts

  • Navigating the NDIS Plan Process: What Participants Should Expect
  • Banned Medical Content: Why Some Health Info Disappears Online
  • Government Health Censorship Exposed: What You Need to Know
  • Top 10 Mental Health Resources You Should Know About
  • 2025 Mental Health Statistics You Need to Know

Fiverr

BL

BP

backlinkplacement.com

Copyright © All rights reserved. | Magazine 7 by AF themes.

WhatsApp us