Kimberlynn Schwartz of Texas Right to Life is happy to report the ongoing impact her state's life-affirming laws are making.
"A new report of Texas data revealed that abortions in Texas dropped in August 2022 to zero elective abortions recorded by the state," she tells AFN. "That is incredible news. That's down from over 5,700 from that same time the year before."
Three abortions did take place, but they were reportedly medically necessary to save the life of the mother – an exception the pro-life law allows.
"'Medical emergency' means a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that, as certified by a physician, places the woman in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless an abortion is performed," the law states.
Texas Right to Life commends advancements in medical technology for greatly reducing the situations where both mother and child are at risk, but the organization recognizes that "in rare and heartbreaking circumstances, a woman’s pregnancy can endanger her life."
Regarding the report, Schwartz notes that what is missing is the number of illegal abortions that are taking place, as that cannot be accurately tracked.
"We've seen pro-choice groups online bragging about how they're trying to drive up elective abortions illegally," she relays. "They do this by bringing abortion-inducing drugs across the border and selling them from Mexican pharmacies to Texas women."
There are also online pharmacies, many of which are overseas, shipping abortion drugs into all the states, including states that legally forbid it. That, says Schwartz, is a complex problem made worse by the fact that the Biden administration has ruled that the postal service can be used to ship the drugs.
That sets up a potential legal fight between the states and the federal government.
