AUSTIN (KXAN) — The number of abortions performed in Texas dropped by 99.5% in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade one year ago.
In the first half of 2022, a total of 17,126 abortions were performed in the state, according to official data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
That figure dropped to just 85 between July and December, a 99.5% decrease from the first six months of the year.
The Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision on June 24, 2022, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion. The ruling gave states the authority to limit or ban the procedure.
Despite the state’s trigger law banning most abortions not going into effect until Aug. 22, Texas saw an immediate and dramatic decrease in the number of abortions after the Supreme Court ruling.
Just 68 abortions were performed on Texas residents in the state in July, a 97% decrease from June. Only 17 abortions were reported in the last five months of the year, all for emergency medical reasons.
In January 2023, the most recent data available, a total of six abortions were performed in the state, again all for emergency reasons.
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.
The extended restrictions came 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 bill banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Since August, 100% of abortions performed in Texas have been because of a medical emergency and to preserve the health of the woman, a complete reversal from the first half of the year.
In previous years, HHSC also reported the number of abortions performed out-of-state for Texas residents. A spokesperson for the commission told KXAN it expects 2022 data to be available in September.
The state receives reports from other states through the State and Territorial Exchange of Vital Events, a public health reporting system maintained by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems.
Reporting abortion data to the system is voluntary, and not all states participate, according to the HHSC spokesperson. The commission does not maintain data on people who travel internationally to receive an abortion.
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.