AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three abortions were reported in Texas in the month of August, state data shows, a 99.9% decrease from June’s total in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
More than 2,500 abortions were reported in June, the same month the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion.
Texas’ trigger law, banning most abortions, didn’t go into effect until Aug. 22. Despite that, the number of abortions reported in the state dropped to just 68 in July, then 3 in August.
Texas’ trigger law bans all abortions, except under limited circumstances like a “life-threatening condition to the mother caused by the pregnancy.” Abortion in the state is punishable by up to life in prison and at least a $100,000 fine for each offense.
Data reported by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) shows that all three abortions in August were performed because of a medical emergency and to preserve the health of the woman.
The extended restrictions in the trigger law came just less than a year after Senate Bill 8 went into effect in September 2021. At the time, it was considered the most restrictive abortion law in the country. The law bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The impact of SB8 can be see in the chart below. Prior to the bill going into effect, the number of abortions in 2021 was running ahead of the 2020 pace. The yellow line — showing the cumulative total in 2021 — then fell behind as monthly abortions dropped from more than 5,000 to fewer than 2,500.
The impact of the Roe v. Wade overturning is also clearly visible, with the number of abortions in the state essentially flatlining since June’s ruling.
From January through August 2022, around 17,200 abortions were performed in the state. In both 2020 and 2021, Texas had already surpassed that figure by April.
The state does report the number of Texans who get an abortion out-of-state, but not until all the monthly figures have been released. HHSC has not yet reported statistics for September through December.
In 2021, HHSC reported 1,712 Texans received an out-of-state abortion, up from 1,226 in 2020. The figure is expected to be much higher in 2022.
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