The peer-reviewed study created a statistical model of Texas to estimate the likely birth rates in the state if it had not passed abortion restrictions by using birthing data in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from 2016 through 2022, according to the news release. The model suggested that, without new abortion restrictions, there would have likely been 287,289 births within that nine-month period. With the restrictions in place, the state saw 297,088 births, which is more than 3.35% higher.
Each month analyzed in the research saw birth rates higher than expected, but the total increase fluctuated from month to month. At its lowest point, in April and May, birth rates were 1.7% higher than would be expected without the abortion restrictions. At the highest point, in December, birth rates were 5.1% higher than would have been expected.
Shortly before Texas’ abortion ban went into effect, the Legislature bolstered funding for the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program to $100 million over fiscal years 2022 and 2023. In June of this year, the Legislature increased the funding further with another $25 million added into the 2023 budget cycle and $140 million over fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
The program provides funding for services to assist women with their pregnancies and to help mothers with young children. This includes material assistance, such as clothing, diapers, and baby formula, and other services, such as counseling and classes on pregnancy, parenting, and adoption.
“We are thrilled to see that the protective laws the Texas Legislature put in place in 2021 are working: Abortions have dramatically decreased, and births have increased,” Joe Pojman, the executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, told CNA.
“Those children are welcome in Texas, which provides vast resources for women with unplanned pregnancies who carry their unborn children to term, give birth to the babies, and keep or place the babies for adoption,” Pojman said. “Texas [has] more than 300 pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies and countless church-based ministries to care for mothers and babies for years after their births.”
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