Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancing Labor Management Through Electromyometrial Imaging for Understanding Uterine Contractions
Published on: May 26, 2023
Association Between Publicly Funded Contraceptive Services and the Abortion Rate in Texas, 2010-2015
Anita M Madison1, Daniel Powers, Julie Maslowsky
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; and the School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Objective:
To evaluate how the availability of contraceptive services was associated with a change in the abortion rate before and after Texas' legislative changes to the family planning budget in 2011 and abortion access in 2013.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, we obtained 2010 and 2015 data on contraceptive provision (number of publicly funded clinics and number of contraceptive clients served per 1,000 reproductive-aged women) from the Guttmacher Institute and county-level abortion data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. We categorized counties as having an abortion rate that increased or declined less than the national rate between 2010 and 2015 ( low-decline counties ) compared with those having an abortion rate that declined equal to or greater than the national rate between 2010 and 2015 ( high-decline counties ). We evaluated differences in contraceptive provision between high-decline and low-decline counties and evaluated county characteristics (racial and ethnic composition, unemployment, poverty, uninsured, education, distance to an abortion clinic, deliveries covered by Medicaid, and Catholic hospital marketplace dominance) as potential confounders.
Results:
Of 157 counties that had at least one contraceptive clinic in either 2010 or 2015, 49 were low-decline counties and 108 were high-decline counties. Although the total number of publicly funded family planning clinics increased by 10.8%, there was a 4.7% decrease in the total number of contraceptive clients served statewide. Compared with low-decline counties, high-decline counties had a higher median number of contraceptive clients served per 1,000 women aged 18-44 years (31.9 vs 60.7, P <.05) in 2015. Between 2010 and 2015, the abortion rate decreased 19.7% for each 1.0% increase in contraceptive clients served.
Conclusion:
Texas counties with higher abortion-rate declines had more publicly funded contraceptive clinics and served more contraceptive clients than counties with lower declines, which may indicate the importance of greater access to publicly funded contraceptive services.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:22Birth Control Methods
01:24Gonadal and Placental Hormones
In males, testosterone is the primary gonadal androgen. It plays a central role in the maturation of male reproductive organs — the penis and testes. Additionally, testosterone is instrumental in the development of secondary sexual characteristics — a deep voice as well as facial and pubic hair...
01:27Ovarian Cycle
01:22Hormonal Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle
At puberty, GnRH begins a pulsatile release pattern, which triggers the anterior pituitary gland to secrete follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses vary across the menstrual cycle, with faster pulses favoring LH release and slower pulses favoring FSH...
01:30Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle
Before puberty, the hypothalamus releases GnRH in a low frequency, low amplitude pulsatile manner. This along with the immature hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity, results in low estrogen levels and the absence of a fully functional ovarian cycle. At puberty, GnRH secretion increases in both frequency and...
01:07Teratogenicity