The number of abortions performed in Texas plummeted in the first month since a new law — which prohibits the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected at around six weeks — went into effect.

In September 2021, just 2,197 abortions were performed in Texas, a drop of more than 60 percent from 5,400 statewide abortions in August, and a 51 percent reduction from September 2020 figures, according to new figures released by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Meanwhile, a survey taken by Heartbeat International in September 2021 indicates that 41 percent of pregnancy centers in Texas and surrounding states have seen an increase in clients. Michael New, a research associate at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, says that while some Texas women are circumventing the Heartbeat Act by obtaining abortions in other states, “clearly more Texas women are seeking assistance in carrying pregnancies to term”.

He said there is no hard data about the number of Texas women who obtained abortions in other states and he lamented that “none of the media coverage included comments from Texas pregnancy help centers, nor did it note that the Texas state legislature appropriated $100 million for the state’s ‘Alternatives to Abortion’ program last year”.