The Texas Health Department has released new information showing that abortions in Texas fell by nearly 60 percent in the first month of the Texas heartbeat law.
The Texas law works by allowing citizens to file private lawsuits against anyone who performs or aids an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Although Texas has yet to release the number of abortions performed during the last months of 2021, the final data for the month of September reveals a massive decrease. According to the data released by the Texas Health Department, the number of abortions in Texas dropped from 5,404 in August to 2,197 in September.
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, signed the Texas heartbeat law, S.B. 8, into law last May, however it did not become legally enforceable until September. The law was immediately challenged by pro-abortion activists, leading to multiple court battles.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in September to allow the Texas abortion ban, which is the strongest ban on abortion in the United States, to remain in effect.
In October, U.S. Judge Robert Pitman restricted the six-week ban on abortions in Texas. However, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Texas abortion law, overturning the lower court’s decision.
Last month, the Supreme Court once again ruled in favor of the Texas abortion law just one day before the pro-life rally March For Life.
After the Texas Health Department released the new statistics, the pro-life news source Life News commented, “It’s a good day when the Texas abortion ban is saving so many babies from abortion that Planned Parenthood calls it ‘devastating.'”
The comment from Life News is in reference to a statement released by a Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas spokeswoman. The spokeswoman told the Dallas Morning News, “Every day that this devastating abortion ban remains in place means more Texans are denied the ability to determine when and how to become a parent along with increasing risk of poverty and negative health and educational outcomes.”
While abortion activists continue to label the Texas heartbeat bill as unconstitutional, efforts to stop the law have failed, allowing the lives of countless babies to be spared. The Texas law has provided a massive win for the pro-life movement in America and could represent the beginning of a shift away from Roe v. Wade.
