At Least 100,000 Texas Women Have Performed Their Own Abortions
LatestBetween 100,000 and 240,000 Texas women ages 18 to 49 have attempted to terminate their own pregnancies without medical assistance, according to new research.
The survey, conducted by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, asked 779 participants to reveal whether she thought her best friend had ever tried abortion self-induction (since the behavior is stigmatized and the participant might be more likely to reveal the truth about a friend), and then whether the participant herself had ever attempted it. 1.7 percent claimed to have performed an abortion on themselves, while 4.1 percent said they thought their best friend had.
These abortion self-inductions were attempted in a number of ways—most commonly with the drug Misoprostol (brand name Cytotec), but also with “herbs or homeopathic remedies, getting hit or punched in the abdomen, using alcohol or illicit drugs, or taking hormonal pills.”
“It started off slow and… went from zero to sixty real quick and it was just like really painful, intense cramping. It was the worst cramping I’ve ever had and probably one of the worst pains I’ve gone through,” said a 24-year-old from Lower Rio Grande Valley.