Abortions in Texas plummeted after now-overturned law
AUSTIN, Texas -- Abortions in Texas plummeted 15 percent during the first year after the Republican-controlled state passed tough restrictions that the U.S. Supreme Court has now struck down -- the best indication yet of just how hard it had become to get an abortion in America's second-largest state.
The health department released the statistics Thursday, after lengthy delays that the agency blamed on finalizing the data. But the American Civil Liberties Union recently accused officials of "concealing" the information.
The totals are illuminating because 2014 was the first full year that Texas' now-dismantled abortion clinic restrictions were in effect. They also show drops that were especially acute among Hispanics and women undergoing medically induced abortions.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Texas law that would have imposed tough standards on abortion clinics is unconstitutional and would have resulted in an undue burden on women seeking access to abortion.
The high court ruled 5-3 in the case, which overturns the decision by the Fifth Circuit that previously upheld the Texas law.
The decision preserves a woman's right to choose. Justice Stephen Breyer, a liberal, wrote the opinion and Justice Kennedy, who is a conservative, sided with the liberals, providing the fifth essential vote. Though he is a conservative, CBS News' Jan Crawford points out, he has refused to strike down Roe v. Wade, the case that gives women abortion rights.
The number of abortions in Texas has fallen every year since 2008, declining by nearly a third over that period. In all, a bit less than 55,000 abortions were performed in Texas in 2014, compared with nearly 64,000 the previous year and almost 81,600 as recently as 2008.
The procedure is becoming less common elsewhere, too. A recent analysis by The Associated Press found that, since 2010, abortions have waned nearly everywhere -- in both liberal states and conservative ones.
Other states either have or have been considering laws that are similar to Texas's, and the Supreme Court decision will affect those measures.
"I am pleased to see the Supreme Court protect women's rights and health today," President Obama said in a statement after the ruling was issued. "We remain strongly committed to the protection of women's health, including protecting a woman's access to safe, affordable health care and her right to determine her own future."
Supporters of the law claimed that it protects the health of patients at abortion clinics in the state.
"Texas cares about our women. That's what this is all about: women's health and quality of care," state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, who was a sponsor of the bill, said when the Supreme Court first heard the case.
Its opponents, on the other hand, argued that it would lead to the shutdown of most abortion clinics throughout the state. Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of the abortion clinic challenging the law, called it a smokescreen.
"This law is cruel, and it is harsh, and it does nothing to advance medical help for women," Hagstrom Miller said.