Abortion drops by over 99 per cent in Texas following Roe v Wade ruling

Abortion figures have dropped dramatically in Texas following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V Wade.

The landmark legal judgment returned power to individual states to legislate on the issue of abortion in June last year, and Texas swiftly enacted a law which means abortion is now only legal in the state for “health and emergency” reasons.

Between January and May 2022, more than 14,500 abortions took place in Texas. In the same period in 2023, this had fallen to just 22, a drop of almost 99.85 per cent.

Incomplete figures

However, these figures only cover abortions which take place in clinics, and does not account for those resulting from taking DIY abortion pills.

Two years ago, the Federal Drug Administration removed the requirement for abortion pills to be dispensed in-person, meaning women seeking an abortion can have them delivered to their door.

The figures are a continuation of the sudden drop that was seen immediately after the law changed. In July 2022, 67 abortions took place, while in the previous month, 2,596 lives were lost to abortion.

North Carolina

North Carolina has also seen a marked drop in abortion numbers after it introduced new legislation on 1 July this year. The law bans abortions after twelve weeks, and also introduced a 72 hour waiting period between being seen at an abortion centre and having the unborn child killed.

Abortions in North Carolina had surged by an average of 1,000 a month after Roe v Wade’s reversal. Neighbouring Tennessee criminalised abortion immediately after the court ruling, while Georgia introduced a ban after 6 weeks.

In June this year, more than 4,200 abortions were committed in the state of North Carolina, but in July this fell to 2,920 when the new law came into effect. According to The Guardian, neighbouring states did not see a surge in abortions, indicating that almost 1,300 lives were saved in one month alone.

Since June 2022, fourteen states have restricted abortion, while eleven have liberalised their laws.