Number of Abortions Down 60% in Texas Following Enactment of ‘Heartbeat Bill’

In May 2021, the state of Texas enacted a “heartbeat bill” prohibiting abortions after a preborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected. This generally occurs around six weeks gestation.

The bill, Senate Bill 8 (SB8), contains a novel legal procedure that allows private citizens to enforce the law by suing abortionists or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion.

Anyone found guilty under the law faces a $10,000 fine per violation.

After numerous trips up and down the legal system, including several to the U.S. Supreme Court, the bill remains in effect and has been saving the lives of preborn babies for months. The private enforcement caveat is why the bill has survived its legal challenges so far, though the legal fights over SB8 are ongoing.

According to a new report, abortions in the state of Texas fell by 60% in the month after SB8 went into effect in September.

Planned Parenthood released a statement that pro-life supporters can rejoice at, calling the numbers “the very beginning of the devastating impact” of the law.

This so-called “devastating impact” really means that preborn babies’ lives are being saved each and every day.

The numbers, released by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, disclosed that in August 2021, there were over 5,400 abortions in the state.

But after SB8 went into effect at the beginning of September, there were less than 2,200 abortions in Texas.

Texas has become the first state to successfully prohibit pre-viability abortions since Roe v. Wade once decided in 1973.

Now, other states are considering following in Texas’ footsteps with their own versions of heartbeat bills modeled after SB8.

Pro-abortion activists frequently accuse pro-life activists of only caring about the preborn baby, but then forgetting about the woman.

They allege this, even though there are thousands of pregnancy resource centers around the nation, staffed with professional, pro-life men and women, doctors and nurses ready and able to help both the women and her child.

But not only that, last year the state of Texas also approved $100 million to provide mothers with “care, counseling, [and] baby supplies” and other resources through its Alternatives to Abortion program. Other resources provided through the program include:

Counseling, mentoring, educational information and classes on pregnancy, parenting, adoption, life skills and employment readiness.
Material assistance, such as car seats, clothing, diapers and formula.
Care coordination through referrals to government assistance programs and other social services programs.
Call center for information and appointment scheduling.
Housing and support services through maternity homes.

The state of Texas has protected thousands of preborn babies in the womb, while also providing aid and help to women who are experiencing crisis pregnancies.

Pro-life supporters love both the preborn baby and the mother, and Texas has proved that once again.

Roe v. Wade was first decreed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, which means that pro-life advocates have been working tirelessly to protect preborn life for nearly 50 years.

With the hundreds of thousands of abortions that occur in the United States each year, the fight for life can seem daunting and unwinnable.

But the success of SB8, and the thousands of babies which have been saved as a result, should encourage those of us in the pro-life movement to keep pressing forward.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 ESV).

The Daily Citizen has also chronicled the ongoing U.S. Supreme Court case in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which may bring about the end of Roe. A decision in that case could go a long way to saving more preborn babies. You can read more about the case here.