WASHINGTON — As states move to restrict abortion after the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, travel times and costs are expected to dramatically increase for Texans seeking out-of-state abortions.
Experts said this will predominantly affect low-income and Black patients and could create lasting economic disparities as women carry pregnancies to term.
After the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe, several states implemented trigger bans on abortion, with few exceptions. In Texas and other states whose bans take effect after a certification period, abortion providers immediately halted services as a precaution.
Abortion has been mostly banned in Texas under Senate Bill 8, which prohibits the procedure after a heartbeat is detected, typically at six weeks of pregnancy. Kari White, the lead investigator of Texas Policy Evaluation Project, said in the first four months after SB 8 went into effect Sept. 1, data collected from seven states showed an average of 1,400 Texans traveled to have abortions.
White said as trigger bans go into effect, abortion care will be even further out of reach, especially for Texans living in the north and eastern part of the state. She said hundreds will likely still travel out of state for care, but the number may drop because of the additional travel barriers.
Where Texans can still travel for abortions
For Texans seeking an abortion out of state, the average driving distance for an abortion post-Roe is 542 miles, a 3017% increase from 17 miles while Roe was still in effect, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonpartisan abortion research group.
For women in Dallas, the closest option is Planned Parenthood Wichita, Kansas, which is about 362 miles away. This could be a roughly five-hour drive or a 10.5-hour ride on three buses, according to NBC News. The clinic is also the closest option from Austin, 544 miles away, which would be an eight-hour drive or a 15 hours by four buses.
Experts have expressed concern about how the drop in accessibility will impact waiting times and appointment availability at clinics in states with fewer restrictions. There are four abortion providers in Kansas and six in New Mexico, according to the National Abortion Federation and Abortion Finder.
New Mexico doesn’t have protections for abortion in its constitution, but state leaders have indicated services will remain legal. Kansas guaranteed rights to bodily autonomy and abortion in 2019, but an amendment allowing lawmakers to pass abortion restrictions will be on the ballot Aug. 2.
Impact on vulnerable communities
As inflation and higher gas prices make travel more expensive, the journey becomes more prohibitive, particularly for women of lower income.
Brenna Kelly, a master’s student in geography at the University of Utah, conducted research into how post-Roe restrictions will change travel times for people seeking abortions on a geographic and socioeconomic level. She found people living in urban areas, where most abortion clinics were previously located, would face the greatest challenges.
Additionally, areas associated with the highest change in travel time also had higher Black populations and percentages of low-income residents.
Kelly called these results “sobering.”
White, of the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, said because many of these residents face structural economic barriers, such as low-paying jobs, it’s going to be difficult for them to travel long distances for abortions.
She said traveling out of state will be particularly difficult for unauthorized immigrants and may dissuade people from trying to cross state lines.
Similarly, White said she expects minors who cannot involve their parents in their care to try other means of an abortion or carrying the pregnancy to term.
“This is going to be a story about inequality,” said Caitlin Knowles Myers, a professor of Economics at Middlebury College.
Myers also contributed to an amicus brief filed in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — the case that resulted in Roe’s reversal — that addressed the economic implications.
From her projections, Myers said about 25% of women seeking abortions in Texas will not be able to travel out of state. While some may be able to self-manage their abortion through less trusted routes, many will carry the pregnancy to term and are likely to suffer financially.
“Access to abortion carries such consequences to a woman’s life that women will do what they can to reach providers, even if they have to turn their lives upside down to do it,” she said.
Myers referenced the Turnaway Study, which tracked the financial stability of people seeking abortions who were able to obtain services versus those who were turned away at a clinic. She said the study shows the two groups on a similar financial track up to the point where they seek an abortion, after which the turnaway group is 80% more likely to have adverse credit events, such as a bankruptcy.
“The effect on their lives is quite stark, and I would emphasize that this isn’t just affecting them, it’s affecting their families,” Myers said.
Access to medical abortion pills and telehealth
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday to protect access to abortion. One provision instructed the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services to push back on attempts to limit access to federally approved abortion medication or to cross state lines for clinical abortion services.
The executive order is fairly limited, and cannot prevent any state restrictions on abortion.
Despite a Texas law prohibiting the use of telehealth for abortion pills, White said people ordering the drug online. Research showed a dramatic increase in demand for medical abortion pills after the implementation of SB 8, and she said she expects a similar increase in other states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court decision.
Texas laws around telehealth and medical abortion could make providers in other states hesitant to offer that type of care and risk legal action. Last week, Planned Parenthood of Montana announced it would no longer offer medical abortion pills to people outside the state.
“We don’t know how that will shift to getting services through other states. There are laws in Texas that explicitly prohibit that practice,” White said. “So it may be quite difficult for people to obtain services in that way.”
