A new report released by the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Policy Evaluation Project found patients seeking abortions in Texas have experienced an increase in wait times since the passage of HB2, the 2013 Texas omnibus anti-abortion bill that attempts to cut off abortion access by requiring abortion providers in the state to fulfill medically unnecessary ambulatory surgical center requirements and secure hospital admitting privileges. More than half of 42 clinics providing abortion in Texas have been forced to shut their doors since HB2 passed two years ago, leading Texas women to wait up to 20 days for a first consult at one of the surviving 18 reproductive health clinics operating in the state, the second most populous in the nation. In cities like Dallas, where one of the state’s most high-volume clinics was shuttered in June, patients saw wait times rise to 20 days, while in neighboring Fort Worth, the wait list to obtain an abortion grew as long as 23 days since the study began late last year. Austin, Houston and San Antonio also experienced increases, each spiking at 23 days, 13 days and 9 days, respectively. “Texans are now forced to undertake multiple, unnecessary visits to clinics that […]
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