Texas law causes abortions to drop by 60% as people seek care in other states

Abortions performed by registered providers in Texas fell by 60% in the first month after the state passed the most restrictive abortion law in the US in decades, according to new figures.

Nearly 2,200 abortions were reported by Texas providers in September after a new law took effect that bans the procedure once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy and when many do not know they are pregnant. The law is without exception in cases of rape or incest.

The figures were released this month by the Texas health and human services commission. In August, there had been more than 5,400 abortions statewide. State health officials said more data will be released on a monthly basis.

The numbers offer a fuller picture of the sharp drop in patients that Texas doctors have described in their clinics over the past five months, during which time courts have repeatedly allowed the restrictions to stay in place. It has left some Texas patients traveling hundreds of miles to clinics in neighboring states or farther, causing a backlog of appointments in those places.

People seeking legal abortions have traveled to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana, according to reporting by the Dallas Morning News.