Austin, TX – Today marks 100 days since the most extreme abortion ban in the country has gone into effect without any concrete action or protections from the courts. 

“Justices seemed to indicate they wanted to review and rule on the constitutionality of the Texas law, known as Senate Bill 8, quickly when they put the case on the fast track in October. But now, it’s unclear when a decision from the court may come.” [Dallas Morning News, November 29, 2021]

The Impact of SB 8 on Abortion Access in Texas 

•  A 50% decline in abortions at Texas clinics after the law went into effect—almost 2,200 in September 2021 compared with 4,300 in September 2020. [Texas Policy Evaluation Project, October 2021]
• The Texas abortion ban and the resulting increase in patients at clinics in adjoining states has forced some Texas residents—or at least those who have the resources to do so—to travel even farther for care. [Guttmacher, November 2021]
• One clinic in a state adjacent to Texas indicated that more than 25% of Texas residents who obtained abortions at the facility in September and October were more than 12 weeks pregnant—when only 13% of abortions in Texas to state residents occurred at that number of weeks or later before S.B. 8 was implemented. [Guttmacher, November 2021]

Avow Executive Director Aimee Arrambide issued the following statement:

“Whether it’s a near-total abortion ban like Texas’s SB 8 or a 15-week abortion ban like Mississippi’s challenged at the Supreme Court last week, a ban on abortion is a ban on abortion. SB 8 has wreaked havoc on the abortion care infrastructure in Texas. It has forced Texans to either delay care, go across state lines for care, and for many, to put off that care altogether. This is a public health emergency. Texans deserve to not have their health and rights be at the mercy of legislative bodies or partisan courts year after year – that’s the Texas we’re fighting for. 

We stand in solidarity with providers, patients, funds, and advocates as they continue to navigate the public health emergency that has been caused by SB 8. We recommit ourselves to the fight to protect and expand abortion access and to elect legislators who are bold and not willing to compromise our values.”

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