DALLAS — The joyful news Megan Bond had waited for years to hear was followed only months later by heartbreak.
At 17 weeks, doctors told her the baby she and her husband had used IVF to conceive had a fatal abnormality. They said the diagnosis meant her baby boy would be born without lungs.
"Carrying him to term would mean that he would live a very short life of pain," Bond said. "I think -- like any mother -- I would do anything to protect my child from pain."
So, Bond drove 12 hours to Denver to get an abortion -- and became one of thousands of Texans leaving the Lone Star state to get procedure done.
Data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment showed that nearly one in every five abortions performed in the Centennial State last year were on Texas residents.
In all, 2,846 Texans terminated their pregnancies in Colorado in 2023 -- up from 400 in 2021, the state data showed.
"It's just been increasing, there's been no slowing down," said Karen Middleton, president of Colorado reproductive rights organization Cobalt.
Her group provides financial assistance for people traveling to Colorado for an abortion -- and she says they help more out-of-towners from Texas than any other state.
But a slue of Texas counties and cities -- from Lubbock to San Angelo -- are trying to put a stop to people going through their cities to get an abortion out of state.
Just this week, Amarillo debated a so-called abortion "travel ban."
"This is an opportunity for you all to stand up and take action," Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn founder Mark Lee Dickson implored the city council.
The councilors ultimately ruled against his proposal, with the mayor warning "It's going to get us sued."
But no matter what Texas municipalities decide, Middleton says it will not stop Cobalt's offerings .
"We live here in Colorado, we helped pass a shield law in Colorado," she said. "We are a state that's considered safe, accessible and our doors are open."
Bond said she felt she didn't have a choice. "You don't want to keep feeling your baby kick knowing that they're not going to survive," she said.
Bond says having to travel out of state for the procedure made heartbreak harder.
"It's been almost two months since I found out and I still cry every day. I think I will for a long time," she said.
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