Distribution of legal abortions in Texas by ethnicity 2021

In 2021, around 36 percent of legal abortions reported in the state of Texas were among Hispanics, while non-Hispanic Blacks accounted for 31 percent and non-Hispanic whites 27 percent. Abortion has long been a controversial topic in the United States with the issue once again becoming a major issue in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing individual states to completely ban abortion if they so choose.

Abortion in Texas

In 2021, there were almost 52 thousand legal abortions reported in Texas, the third highest number among all U.S. states. However, concerning the rate of abortion per 100,000 population, Texas was ranked 27th, with just 8.4 abortions per 100,000 population. In comparison, in Florida that year there were 20.3 abortions per 100,000 population, the second highest rate among the states. Texas was one of a number of states with a so-called “trigger law”, which, in response to the Supreme Court decision in 2022, automatically banned abortions in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Under the new law, performing an abortion is a felony, punishable by up to life in prison.

Public opinion

Opinions in the United States on abortion are often divided between those who are “pro-choice” and those who are “pro-life”. Polls have shown that the share of those who identify with each side have fluctuated over the years, but a survey from 2023 found that around 52 percent of adults considered themselves pro-choice, while 44 percent were pro-life. Younger people more often believe abortion should be legal under any circumstance than older people, but only a minority across the age groups believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. In fact, despite several states, such as Texas, completely banning abortion, a survey from 2023 found that 55 percent of U.S. adults believed abortion should be permitted either whenever a woman decides to or under given circumstances.