Facts and figures of medical care under Texas’ current laws.
By Hope Monte
Illustrations by Jessica Wetter
Women in Texas are faced with limited accessibility to health care due to adversity and conflict over reproductive rights and legislation. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Texans are left with fewer and more expensive options to access care. Austin has created the Reproductive Justice Fund that allocates $400,000 to aid Austin residents in seeking out-of-state abortion care to help combat the current struggles that put Texan women at risk.
49
The Commonwealth Fund created a scorecard, based on a study that pulls from various data metrics of healthcare access; including population health, health care system performance and more.
When evaluating health care quality and prevention, Texas fell to the bottom of rankings at 49th among all states. Texas performs high rates of cesarean sections for low-risk births. Initiatives have been set nationally to decrease the percentage of c-section births due to associated risks with recovery, complications in following births and potential harm to infant health. Texas remains a high percentage c-section state, showing a lack of initiative to perform safer births for women.
36%
Women of reproductive age in Texas are facing more obstacles with reproductive autonomy and accessible health care compared to other states. According to a PLOS One study, 36% of Texans experience financial barriers to accessing their preferred contraceptive methods. This is compared to a 19% in California where the same study was conducted.
1976
Austin Women’s Health Center was founded in 1976 with a mission to create accessible health care by providing gynecological services plus pregnancy and abortion counseling. The center is the first physician-owned clinic in Austin, Texas. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the clinic faces financial issues. Austin Women’s Health Center started a GoFundMe in December 2023 to maintain care for the 3,000 patients they serve as the last independently run reproductive clinic in the Austin area.
