Study Shows 100,000 Texas Women Have Tried a Self-Induced Abortion

"Our findings indicate that abortion self-induction is most definitely happening in Texas."

After a controversial 2013 law forced half of the abortion clinics in Texas to close (the Supreme Court placed a stay on the ruling earlier this year), it’s safe to say that Texas isn’t exactly a sanctuary for women’s reproductive rights. So it comes as no surprise than more than 100,000 have taken matters into their own hands and tried to perform the procedure on their own.

A new study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project revealed that 1.7% of women between the ages of 18 and 40 have reportedly tried to self-induce an abortion. 4.1% claim to either know or suspect that their best friend tried the procedure, Broadly reports.

"Our findings indicate that abortion self-induction is most definitely happening in Texas," Dr. Daniel Grossman, one of the study's authors, said. "While it appears to be a small proportion of women who have ever tried to do this, the absolute number is quite large because of the size of the population in Texas."

While many might assume that the wire hangers prevail as the go-to method for a home abortion, the study says that isn’t the case. The most common method has to be a pill called misoprostol that is marketed as an ulcer medication in Mexico, and other Central and South American countries. Additional dangerous ways to terminate a pregnancy include homeopathic remedies, getting punched in the stomach, using alcohol or drugs, and ingesting hormone pills.

Yikes. 

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