The bitter abortion battle waged on and on for months in the Lone Star State. Finally, the Texas Heartbeat Act, which effectively bans on-demand abortion after six weeks — decried by liberals as ending “a woman’s right to choose” and heralded by conservatives for banning on-demand abortion — became law.

Now, the results — the number of abortions — are in for September, the first full month after the law went into effect. According to a study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, the number of clinic-performed abortions in Texas decreased by about 50 percent for the month vs. the same month in 2020.

TxPEP research in @UpshotNYT shows a 50% abortion decline in Texas during the first 30 days of #SB8. https://t.co/3XfnEHfD09

— Texas Policy Evaluation Project (@TxPEPresearch) October 29, 2021

Obviously, the Democrat Party was hardest hit by the devastating news from the TPEP.

We obtained monthly data on the total number of abortions provided at 19 of Texas’ 24 abortion facilities, which provide approximately 93% of all abortions reported in state annual vital statistics data. We compared the percent change in the number of in-state abortions that occurred between July and September 2021, relative to the same months in 2020.

The Texas Policy Evaluation Project’s report further said “people” familiar with the new law likely didn’t attempt to obtain in-state “care” — an on-demand abortion.

Over 40% of people seeking abortion care do not contact a Texas facility until after 6 weeks’ of pregnancy. Some of those who called for an appointment after September 1, 2021 were likely told they were ineligible for care based on the date of their last menstrual period, and others were turned away after an ultrasound showed embryonic cardiac activity.

Additionally, people who were aware of SB8 may have expected that they would not be able to obtain an abortion in Texas after September 1, 2021, and therefore did not try to obtain in-state care at all.

The obvious question is how many of those turned away due to the new law obtained illegal abortions?

It should be noted that the Texas Policy Evaluation Project has been vehemently opposed to the new abortion law, as evidenced by this July tweet:

A new TxPEP research brief shows that, if Senate Bill 8 were to go in effect, over 8 in 10 Texans seeking abortion care would NOT be able to obtain it.

Let me fix that for the Texas Policy Evaluation Project and the rest of the pro-abortion crowd:

“A new TxPEP research brief shows that, with Senate Bill 8 now in effect, eight in ten babies will be born that would’ve been killed under the state’s previous abortion law.” There, that’s better.

A new TxPEP research brief shows that, if Senate Bill 8 were to go in effect, over 8 in 10 Texans seeking abortion care would NOT be able to obtain it. #sb8 #txlege @dr_moayedi @Laura_TX_yes https://t.co/JQtiAy76v5 pic.twitter.com/8zLKbjfcOP

— Texas Policy Evaluation Project (@TxPEPresearch) July 7, 2021

Liberal site Axios — the relatively new darling of the left — was among those sites that decried the Texas Heartbeat Act. It still does — even more so.

Many Texans are forced to travel to neighboring states — Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Arkansas — to access the procedure. [“Access the procedure.” How antiseptic.]

With the exception of New Mexico, these states have strict requirements that patients must follow to receive health care, including receiving state counseling and waiting 24 hours before they can get an abortion, according to the researchers.
It can also be very expensive.

About “$550 is the average cost for an abortion and then when you start to add in travel, hotel, and food costs, those costs skyrocket, potentially to hundreds of dollars or more,” said Elizabeth Nash, lead state policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research and policy organization.

“I don’t know people who could pull together over $1,000” on short notice, Nash told Axios.

And then the race card: “Those most affected by abortion restrictions tend to be of low income, people of color, uninsured and/or undocumented,” Axios made sure to quote Nash saying, itself adding: “Usually, people in these groups cannot afford travel costs.”

Memo to Axios: The Texas Heartbeat Act became law to protect the lives of unborn children who would otherwise be murdered, not to worry about the costs of those who choose instead to kill the unborn.

Nonetheless, Axios played one more oft-played card of those in favor of on-demand abortion:

Don’t forget: Without access to clinic-based abortion care, researchers warn more people may resort to more dangerous practices, including self-managed abortions.

Speaking of pro-abortion, as we reported earlier, Joe Biden met with Pope Francis in Rome on Friday.

Setting aside how bizarre the meeting was — Biden “joked” about buying the Pope a drink the next time they hang out — the self-proclaimed “devout Catholic” has referred to on-demand abortion as an “essential healthcare service,” leaving him at odds with Francis and other senior Catholic leaders for some time.