Importance: Texas' 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy may demonstrate how patterns of abortion might change following the US Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning Roe v Wade.
Objective: To assess changes in the number of abortions and changes in the percentage of out-of-state abortions among Texas residents performed at 12 or more weeks of gestation in the first 6 months following implementation of Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), which prohibited abortions after detection of embryonic cardiac activity.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective study of a sample of 50 Texas and out-of-state abortion facilities using an interrupted time series analysis to assess changes in the number of abortions, and Poisson regression to assess changes in abortions at 12 or more weeks of gestation. Data included 68 820 Texas facility-based abortions and 11 287 out-of-state abortions among Texas residents during the study period from September 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022.
Exposures: Abortion care obtained after (September 2021-February 2022) vs before (September 2020-August 2021) implementation of SB 8.
Main Outcomes And Measures: Primary outcomes were changes in the number of facility-based abortions for Texas residents, in Texas and out of state, in the month after implementation of SB 8 compared with the month before. The secondary outcome was the change in the percentage of out-of-state abortions among Texas residents obtained at 12 or more weeks of gestation during the 6-month period after the law's implementation.
Results: Between September 2020 and August 2021, there were 55 018 abortions in Texas and 2547 out-of-state abortions among Texas residents. During the 6 months after SB 8, there were 13 802 abortions in Texas and 8740 out-of-state abortions among Texas residents. Compared with the month before implementation of SB 8, the number of Texas facility-based abortions significantly decreased from 5451 to 2169 (difference, -3282 [95% CI, -3171 to -3396]; incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.43 [95% CI, 0.36-0.51]) in the month after SB 8 was implemented. The number of out-of-state abortions among Texas residents significantly increased from 222 to 1332 (difference, 1110 [95% CI, 1047-1177]; IRR, 5.38 [95% CI, 4.19-6.91]). Overall, the total documented number of Texas facility-based and out-of-state abortions among Texas residents significantly decreased from 5673 to 3501 (absolute change, -2172 [95% CI, -2083 to -2265]; IRR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.56-0.79]) in the first month after SB 8 was implemented compared with the previous month. Out-of-state abortions among Texas residents obtained at 12 or more weeks of gestation increased from 17.1% (221/1291) to 31.0% (399/1289) (difference, 178 [95% CI, 153-206]) during the period between September 2021 and February 2022 (P < .001 for trend).
Conclusions And Relevance: Among a sample of abortion facilities, the 2021 Texas law banning abortion in early pregnancy (SB 8) was significantly associated with a decrease in the documented total of facility-based abortions in Texas and obtained by Texas residents in surrounding states in the first month after implementation compared with the previous month. Over the 6 months following SB 8 implementation, the percentage of out-of-state abortions among Texas residents obtained at 12 or more weeks of gestation significantly increased.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.20423 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Bioethics
January 2025
Department of Philosophy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
According to Hendricks Impairment Argument (IA), abortion is immoral because it impairs the fetus. Here, I argue it is not sufficient to show merely that abortion impairs, Hendricks must show that it harms the fetus. If the fetus is not numerically identical to the person it will become, then it isn't harmed by an abortion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMil Med
January 2025
Department of Gynecologic Surgery and Obstetrics, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA.
Objective: Female sterilization is a common form of contraception in the United States. On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court eliminated the federal standard protecting a woman's right to abortion via Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Genet Genomic Med
January 2025
Department of Biology, Università Degli Studi Di Napoli "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
Background: The KHDC3L gene encodes a component of the subcortical maternal complex (SCMC). Biallelic mutations in this gene cause 5%-10% of biparental hydatidiform moles (BiHM), and a few maternal deletions in KHDC3L have been identified in women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).
Method: In this study, we had a patient with a history of 10 pregnancy or neonatal losses, including spontaneous abortions, neonatal deaths, and molar pregnancy.
BMJ Sex Reprod Health
December 2024
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
Background: Advance provision of medication abortion, or the prescription of mifepristone and misoprostol before pregnancy occurs, is an unexplored care model aimed at expanding abortion access. We examine motivations for obtaining advance provision from the online telemedicine service, Aid Access, which supports people in the United States.
Methods: Between May and November 2023, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 39 people who obtained advance provision between January 2022 and April 2023.
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