Since Texas enacted a near-total abortion ban, an estimated 26,000 rape-related pregnancies have occurred within the state, according to a study referenced by the Houston Chronicle. The ban, which lacks exceptions for cases of rape or incest, has likely driven survivors to seek abortions across state lines or through self-managed means. "Many women who become impregnated by rape, at least some of them are going to be able to go out-of-state, some of them are going to be able to get a self-managed abortion with pills acquired surreptitiously," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a public health professor at the City University of New York's Hunter College, in an interview with the Dallas News. "But, we’re pretty sure that many of these women are going to be left with no viable option other than carrying the pregnancy to term."
The Dallas News reports that the research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association further found that, across fourteen states with total abortion bans post-Roe, completed vaginal rapes led to nearly 65,000 pregnancies. Notably, around 91% of these pregnancies occurred in states that do not permit abortions in instances of rape. Among those states, Texas accounted for an estimated 45% of such pregnancies, followed by Missouri and Tennessee with 5,825 and 4,993 respectively.
Abortion figures in Texas have plummeted since the implementation of the bans, dropping from over 50,000 in 2021 to fewer than 10 per month in the first eight months of 2023, according to the Houston Chronicle. However, Texas Health and Human Services Commission data suggests the state's fertility rate has increased for the first time since 2014, potentially a result of the restrictive laws. Meanwhile, the University of Houston study highlighted by the Dallas News conveyed an uptick in births among Hispanic women in Texas, indicating unexpected demographic impacts from the legislation.
The strain on Texans, especially those seeking abortion care, has attracted widespread attention. Issues with the state’s only exception for abortion—when the mother is at risk of death or serious bodily harm—were brought into legal spotlights by two high-profile lawsuits. In a vivid illustration of the turmoil, Kate Cox, a Dallas mother, found herself in a wrenching legal battle and eventually left the state to obtain an abortion following a lethal fetal diagnosis. Cox's story has since reached national consciousness as she was extended an invitation to attend the State of the Union address as a guest of First Lady Jill Biden, as reported by Dallas News.
