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While Texas Restricts Abortions, Mexico Braces for a Boom

This week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a law banning abortions after 20 weeks.

It also increases requirements for clinics and doctors that provide abortions. Clinics have a little over a year to upgrade to ambulatory surgical centers. Several clinics are expected to close, leaving women in poor and rural areas the most affected.

In Laredo, Texas, women haven't had access to abortion clinics for years. But they do have access to the border – where doctors and pharmacies that supply alternatives are bracing for a boom in business.

KUT News traveled across the border to Nuevo Laredo to find out more. Listen to the story and view our slideshow in the players above.

Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon, KUT News
Dr. Hector Gonzalez, director of Laredo's Health Department says at least 600 teenage girls get pregnant in his city every year. He says more than 40 percent of the population there is uninsured, making them look for options "under the table."

Texas Standard reporter Joy Diaz has amassed a lengthy and highly recognized body of work in public media reporting. Prior to joining Texas Standard, Joy was a reporter with Austin NPR station KUT on and off since 2005. There, she covered city news and politics, education, healthcare and immigration.
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