(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – The Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as the “abortion ban” after the sixth week of pregnancy when a heartbeat can be detected, has led to more live births in Texas and fewer abortions, a new study has found.
The Republican-led legislature of Texas adopted the Heartbeat Act, which bans most abortions after the fetus gets a heartbeat, over a year ago, in September 2021.
After that, between September 2021 and January 2022, the number of abortions in the state declined by 10,000, according to the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, which studied data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The institute cited by The Washington Times also found that 157,856 babies were born in Texas between March and July 2022, exceeding the previous three-year average by over 5,000.
“This is powerful statistical evidence that the Texas Heartbeat Act is saving thousands of lives,” commented Michael New, a professor of social research at the Catholic University of America, who conducted the study.
He said the monthly average number of abortions in Texas declined by more than 2,760 during the first five months after the heartbeat law was adopted.
According to Mary Ziegler, however, who is an expert on the legal history of America’s abortion debate, the study findings may indicate that more unreported abortions are occurring in Texas.
“The study is helpful, but we have to take it with a grain of salt because it’s hard to get data in a world where abortions are illegal,” said Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.
“Modestly, I would say the data shows that some people who would have abortions aren’t having them, but not as many as you would expect. Some abortions are happening underground or out of state,” she argued.
Ziegler added it was “impossible to know” how many Texas women bought abortion pills online to end their pregnancies at home.
The Texas Heartbeat Act was allowed to stand by the US Supreme Court almost a year before, in June 2022, the nation’s highest court made abortion a state-level issue by overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion.
Besides banning most abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, the Texas law also empowers private citizens to file lawsuits against a medical provider who conducts abortions after that period.
In August of this year, Texas adopted another state ban, the Texas Human Life Protection Act, which “extends complete legal protection from abortion to ‘the unborn child’ from the moment of conception.”
“Now that abortion is illegal in Texas, we can average that around 150 babies are being saved every day from abortion,” said attorney Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, a Christian advocacy nonprofit.
The Austin-based group estimates abortions in Texas are down by 65,204 since the heartbeat law took effect more than a year ago.
Study finds Texas births up, abortions down after fetal heartbeat lawhttps://t.co/ag1iLUdduB pic.twitter.com/AfeFytFJln
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 15, 2022
