Texas Abortion Rate Dropped Nearly 60% After Heartbeat Act Took Effect
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Abortions in Texas dropped nearly 60% in the first month after the Heartbeat Act was put into effect on Sept. 1.
According to data from Texas Health and Human Services, the number of abortions performed in the state fell from 5,404 in August to 2,197 in September. The Heartbeat Act (SB 8) bans all abortions around the six-week mark when fetal cardiac activity is detected. It also allows individuals to file lawsuits against people who perform or knowingly assist a woman in getting an abortion. While the new law has made it "more complicated" for women living in Texas to get abortions, it hasn't prevented them from occurring. According to The Dallas Morning News (Center bias), women have been traveling to "Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana to obtain legal abortions."
While the drop in abortions from Aug. to Sep. 2021 was 59.4%, National Review (Right bias) said the abortion rate "plummeted by 50 percent"— even when citing the same statistics from Texas Health and Human Services. The right-rated outlet also linked to data that illustrates how the Texas Heartbeat Act is "saving lives" and mentioned how the Supreme Court is "positioned to potentially reverse or weaken its decision in Roe v. Wade." The Guardian (Lean Left bias) noted that "no anti-abortion supporters have filed any suits" in the six months since the Heartbeat Act was enacted.
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From the Right
Abortions in Texas Plummeted by 50 Percent After New Heartbeat Law Took Effect
The number of abortions performed in Texas plummeted in the first month since a new law — which prohibits the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected — went into effect.
In September 2021, just 2,197 abortions were performed in Texas, a drop of 51 percent from 5,400 statewide abortions in August, according to new figures released by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The Supreme Court has declined the opportunity to review the law, dismissing most legal challenges to it. A unique enforcement mechanism in the law allows individuals to...
From the Left
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...
From the Center
Abortions in Texas dropped almost 60% in the first month after new SB 8 restrictions were imposed
Texas Health and Human Services released updated statistics Monday showing the number of abortions reported in the state decreased almost 60% in the first month after new restrictions went into effect.
The state reported 2,197 induced terminations of pregnancies for September of 2021, following 5,404 in August, the last month before Senate Bill 8 took effect. Notably, in September there were only two induced abortions performed after six weeks of gestation, which the new law allows only under medical exemptions.
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