The nauseating stats come from a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Although the study focused on 14 states that implemented total abortion bans following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the statistics for Texas stand out.
The Houston Chronicle explains that Texas, which has the largest population of the 14, also had the highest number of estimated rape-related pregnancies: 26,313. Texas has outlawed abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest survivors. What’s even more disturbing is that the number will only increase so long as the total abortion ban is in effect.
[T]he researchers estimated there were 519,981 rapes associated with 64,565 pregnancies during the four to 18 months after states implemented total abortion bans. Of those pregnancies, an estimated 5,586 occurred in states with exceptions for rape and 58,979 in states with no exceptions.
The Chronicle also points out that rape and incest exceptions are not much help, either:
In the five states with rape exceptions, strict gestational limits and requirements to report the rape to law enforcement make it harder for most survivors to qualify, the study said. There were 10 or fewer legal abortions per month in the five states with rape exceptions, the study said, indicating that survivors with access to abortion care still cannot receive it in their home state.
Earlier this week, the Chronicle reported that teen birth rates in Texas rose for the first time in 15 years in the year since the state banned abortion.
Vote the misogynistic sadists out of office!
