Texas Senate Bill 8 significantly reduced travel to abortion clinics in Texas

Abstract

The Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the United States Supreme Court has rescinded theconstitutional guarantee of abortion across the United States. As a result, at least 13 states havebanned abortion access with unknown effects. Using “Texas” SB8 law that similarly restrictedabortions in Texas, we provide insight into how individuals respond to these restrictionsusing aggregated and anonymized human mobility data. We find that “Texas” SB 8 lawreduced mobility near abortion clinics in Texas by people who live in Texas and those who liveoutside the state. We also find that mobility from Texas to abortion clinics in other statesincreased, with notable increases in Missouri and Arkansas, two states that subsequently enactedpost-Dobbs bans. These results highlight the importance of out-of-state abortion services forwomen living in highly restrictive states

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