TEXAS, USA — Newly-released data from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) shows just how sharply abortions in the state declined after the Dobbs v. Jackson U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
According to DSHS, 68 abortions were performed in Texas in July 2022, a sharp drop from previous months. For comparison, Texas reported more than 2,500 abortions in June 2022 and nearly 3,000 in May 2022.
Prior to the Supreme Court decision, Texas already had a near-total ban on abortion in place. Senate Bill 8, which went into effect in September 2021, allows any private citizen to sue anyone who "aids or abets" in an abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or about six weeks into pregnancy.
However, as a result of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a different, so-called "trigger law" went into effect in Texas, banning almost all abortions.
The law, which was written to go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issued an official judgement overturning Roe v. Wade, increased the criminal and civil penalties associated with abortion in Texas. Performing an abortion is now a felony punishable by up to life in prison and is subject to a civil penalty of at least $100,000, plus attorney's fees.
The trigger law didn't take effect until August, but many clinics in Texas had already stopped performing abortions when the SCOTUS announced its Dobbs decision.
The Texas law has only narrow exceptions to save the life of a pregnant patient. The law criminalizes performing an abortion unless the pregnant patient is facing "a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy."
The law also specifically prohibits prosecuting a pregnant patient who undergoes an abortion.
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