Medication abortion use among low-income and rural Texans before and during state-imposed restrictions and after FDA-updated labeling

Background: In 2013, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 2, restricting use of medication abortion to comply with Food and Drug Administration labeling from 2000. The Food and Drug Administration updated its labeling for medication abortion in 2016, alleviating some of the burdens imposed by House Bill 2.

Objective: Our objective was to identify the impact of House Bill 2 on medication abortion use by patient travel distance to an open clinic and income status.

Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, we collected patient zip code, county of residence, type of abortion, family size, and income data on all patients who received an abortion (medication or aspiration) from 7 Texas abortion clinics in 3 time periods: pre-House Bill 2 (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013), during House Bill 2 (April 1, 2015-March 30, 2016), and post-Food and Drug Administration labeling update (April 1, 2016-March 30, 2017). Patient driving distance to the clinic where care was obtained was categorized as 1-24, 25-49, 50-99, or 100+ miles. Patient county of residence was categorized by availability of a clinic during House Bill 2 (open clinic), county with a House Bill 2-related clinic closure (closed clinic), or no clinic any time period. Patient income was categorized as ≤110% federal poverty level (low-income) and >110% federal poverty level. Change in medication abortion use in the 3 time periods by patient driving distance, residence in a county with an open clinic, and income status were evaluated using χ² tests and logistic regression. We used geospatial mapping to depict the spatial distribution of patients who obtained a medication abortion in each time period.

Results: Among 70,578 abortion procedures, medication abortion comprised 26%, 7%, and 29% of cases pre-House Bill 2, during House Bill 2, and post-Food and Drug Administration labeling update, respectively. During House Bill 2, patients traveling 100+ miles compared to 1- 24 miles were less likely to use medication abortion (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.15, 0.30), as were low-income compared to higher-income patients (odds ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.68, 0.85), and low-income, distant patients (adjusted odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.08, 0.25). Similarly, post-Food and Drug Administration labeling update, rebound in medication abortion use was less pronounced for patients traveling 100+ miles compared to 1-24 miles (odds ratio, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.74, 0.91), low-income compared to higher-income patients (odds ratio, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.72, 0.81), and low-income, distant patients (adjusted odds ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.68, 0.94). Post-Food and Drug Administration labeling update, patients residing in counties with House Bill 2-related clinic closures were less likely to receive medication abortion as driving distance increased (52% traveling 25-49 miles, 41% traveling 50-99 miles, and 26% traveling 100+ miles, P < .05). Geospatial mapping demonstrated that patients traveled from all over the state to receive medication abortion pre-House Bill 2 and post-Food and Drug Administration labeling update, whereas during House Bill 2, only those living in or near a county with an open clinic obtained medication abortion.

Conclusion: Texas state law drastically restricted access to medication abortion and had a disproportionate impact on low-income patients and those living farther from an open clinic. After the Food and Drug Administration labeling update, medication abortion use rebounded, but disparities in use remained.