BY DANICA LLOYD CONTRIBUTIONS BY EMILY LINCKE & HANNAH NORTON
Current situation
Looking ahead
Gregory said she believes a rise in fertility rates due to abortion restrictions could have significant socioeconomic implications. “Some people may think, ‘Oh, that’s good. We want more people,’” she said. “But if you assume that will be a largely impoverished group and that it will be skewed by race and ethnicity based on access to reliable contraception … then you ask questions about equity in your community.” The Turnaway Study from the University of California, San Francisco, found those who
were denied an abortion were more likely to face economic hardship, stay in contact with a violent partner, raise their child alone and face more serious health problems. Gregory also said there are health implications as Texas women with pregnancy complications have been denied abortions. Community Impact reported in 2022 that Texas’ maternal mortality rate was 14% higher than the national average, and those rates are particularly high for women of color and those 40 and older.
Care Net Pregnancy Center served 2,200 women at its Champions and Cypress locations in 2023, and Kirkpatrick said that number increases 8%-10% each year. A third center opened in Humble in January. Sandra Pickett, executive director of New Life Adoption in northwest Houston, said a record 20 adoption placements were completed last year compared to 10-12 in an average year. “They’re just not ready to be parents, and they don’t have the time or the resources to travel to New Mexico for an abortion, so they just move forward in their pregnancy,” she said. Pregnancy Assistance Center North is a local nonprofit that offers classes, baby supplies, med- ical testing and support for new and experienced mothers in the north Houston area from its Spring and Humble locations. PACN Director Monica Branham said she has recently seen an increased demand for items such as diapers and baby clothes.
46% of people are reluctant to move to states with abortion
Women earn 9% more over
Texas fertility rates are expected to increase an
bans, while 14.6% desired to move to states with restrictive abortion policies, per a survey conducted by the University of Houston.
additional 5.1% in 2023 following the total abortion ban—a larger increase than any other state.
their lifetimes for each year of delaying
motherhood after college.
SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA; THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON’S INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN, GENDER & SEXUALITY; IZA INSTITUTE OF LABOR ECONOMICS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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LAKE HOUSTON - HUMBLE - KINGWOOD EDITION
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