Diane E. Judge, APN/CNP reviewing Grossman D et al. JAMA 2017 Jan 24.

Abortion numbers fell with lengthening distance to the nearest facility after Texas legislation resulted in facility closures.

In 2013, Texas legislation (overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016) required abortion clinics to meet hospital-level standards and to employ physicians with nearby admitting privileges. To examine the effects of the multiple facility closings that resulted, researchers analyzed data on abortions obtained in Texas and neighboring states in relation to geographical distance to the nearest open abortion facility in 2012 and 2014. Change in distance to the nearest facility was assessed alongside change in number of abortions obtained by residents in each county.

Texas residents obtained 66,098 abortions (97 out of state) in 2012 and 53,882 (754 out of state) in 2014 (an overall decrease of 18.5%). In 2012, a total of 41 abortion facilities were distributed among 17 counties; this number fell to 21 in 6 counties in 2014. Counties with open facilities in 2014 had minimal distance changes compared with 2012 but still exhibited a 15.9% decline in procedures (possibly because capacity of these facilities was limited). In counties without a facility in 2014, number of abortions fell progressively with increasing distance to the nearest facility (P for trend <0.001). Counties without facilities in 2014 but no distance change showed no significant change in abortion numbers; in those counties with ≥100 mile distance increases, abortion rates fell by 50.3%.

CITATION(S):

Grossman D et al. Change in distance to nearest facility and abortion in Texas, 2012 to 2014. JAMA 2017 Jan 24; 317:437.

JWatch