Video: More Proof of How Texas Anti-Abortion Laws Harm Women

Increased wait times and delayed care for all Texas women seeking abortions, but the list goes on.

Ed Note: This article was originally published on the Texas Research Institute blog.

In 2013, Texas lawmakers passed a law that has since closed more than half of the state’s abortion clincs. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering that law right now.

Check out this one-minute video on a new study conducted by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project that proves just how harmful this law really is, and then read more about the study below:

The study — published in the American Journal of Public Health — found that women whose nearest clinic closed after House Bill 2 passed:

  • had to travel four times longer to get to an abortion clinic: the average one-way distance rose from 17 miles to 70 miles. Many had to travel much farther. 25% of women lived more than 139 miles from the nearest clinic and 10% lived more than 256 miles away. The national average one-way distance is 30 miles.

  • were three times more likely to have to stay somewhere overnight: 16% compared to 5% among those whose nearest clinic didn’t close.

  • spent $100+ in added expenses like lost wages, gas, hotels, and childcare: 32% of spent more than $100 in out-of-pocket expenses beyond the cost of the abortion.

  • couldn’t get the medication abortion they wanted: 38% compared to 22% of women whose nearest clinic didn’t close.

  • faced three or more hurdles to obtain an abortion: 24% faced that many barriers and 40% reported that it was “somewhat” or “very hard” to get the care they wanted.

An October 2015 TxPEP study confirmed other harmful impacts of this law: increased wait times and delayed care for all Texas women seeking abortions.

It’s important to note that these studies only included women who were able to access abortion care. Other research has shown that these barriers pose a complete obstacle to safe, legal abortion care for many women.