Abortion down 60% after law, Texas attorney general says

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday said the state’s ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected has saved “17,000 newborn lives” in the six months since the law went into effect.

The attorney general’s office noted that abortions in the state were down 60% in the first month following the enactment of S.B. 8 — the law banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected — which went into effect Sept. 1. A fetal heartbeat is usually detected between six to eight weeks of pregnancy.

“Simply by having SB8 enacted, thousands of lives have already been saved in Texas. Stopping abortion providers from conducting these barbaric practices is yet another win for our great state. I will continue to fight tirelessly for the rights of the unborn,” Mr. Paxton said in a press release.

Abortion providers, meanwhile, say the number of Texans going outside the state to obtain an abortion has skyrocketed.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said clinics in states neighboring Texas have seen an 800% increase in visits from Texas patients in the roughly six months since the new law took effect.

Kathaleen Pittman, clinic administrator at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, Louisiana, said 18% of her patients were from Texas before the state’s new law but that jumped to 60% by December.

Although the Texas ban faces legal challenges, the Supreme Court has not imposed a stay on Texas enforcing it while the litigation proceeds.

Under the new Texas law, an abortion provider can only perform an abortion past the limit if there is a medical emergency for the pregnant woman, which must be thoroughly documented in written records kept by the clinic.

Ultimately, it is up to the abortion provider to halt any abortion procedure if a fetal heartbeat is detected.

If a provider ignores the heartbeat and continues the procedure, the provider could be subject to a civil lawsuit brought by any individual — not the state — for violating the law.

Any provider who performs or anyone who assists a pregnant person in obtaining an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected also can be sued for violating the legislation by any citizen.

The legislation differs from other pro-life state laws in that it gives private citizens the right to sue abortion providers and anyone assisting in the unlawful procedure in civil court rather than leaving a criminal probe to state officials.

If an individual successfully sues an abortion provider or anyone else who assisted a person in obtaining an unlawful abortion, the court can reward $10,000 to the plaintiff who brought the case.

Because the law allows private citizens to enforce it, abortion providers have not had luck in the courts challenging it.

The Supreme Court declined to block enforcement after the providers sued Texas state officials, though the justices left open the question about whether medical licensing boards would be enforcing the law by suspending licenses of abortion providers who violate it and face lawsuits.

The Texas Supreme Court will decide what role those licensing boards play concerning the new law. The state’s highest court heard arguments in the dispute last week.