Pregnant Women’s Mortality Rates In Texas Skyrocketed Following Abortion Ban

A recent analysis of federal public health data revealed a disturbing trend in Texas where the number of women who died while pregnant, during labor, or shortly after childbirth significantly surged after the state implemented its abortion ban in 2021. 

This stark increase in maternal mortality rates in Texas contrasted sharply with the more gradual rise seen nationwide, highlighting the detrimental impact of restrictive reproductive policies on women’s health outcomes in the state.

Rate of maternal mortality cases in Texas rose by 56%

According to an analysis by the Gender Equity Policy Institute, the incidence of maternal death cases in Texas increased by 56% between 2019 and 2022, whereas the national rate increased by just 11% over the same period. 

The nonprofit research team examined Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that were open to the public and provided NBC News with the only analysis of the findings.

Nancy L. Cohen, president of the GEPI said “There’s only one explanation for this staggering difference in maternal mortality, All the research points to Texas’ abortion ban as the primary driver of this alarming increase.” 

“Texas, I fear, is a harbinger of what’s to come in other states,” she added.

“If you deny women abortions, more women are going to be pregnant”

The Texas Legislature banned abortion care as early as five weeks into pregnancy in September 2021, a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. 

Texas now prohibits all abortion except to save the life of the mother, with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott praised the bill as a measure ensuring the life of every unborn child.

GEPI researchers conducted an initial study on the impact of Texas Senate Bill 8, which prohibits abortions, including those that endanger the mother’s life, on pregnant women’s health and safety. The study discovered that maternal mortality increased within a year in all analyzed racial groups.

The number of Hispanic women who pass away during pregnancy, childbirth, or shortly after rose from 14.5 per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 18.9 in 2022. The rates for white women increased from 20 per 100,000 to 39.1, almost doubling. 

Additionally, the rates of Black women, who traditionally have a higher risk of passing away during pregnancy, childbirth, or shortly after, increased from 31.6 to 43.6 per 100,000 live births.

The Gender Equity Policy Institute reports that although overall maternal mortality increased throughout the pandemic, Texas had a steady increase in the number of pregnant or delivery-related deaths of women after the state outlawed abortion.

Cohen said “If you deny women abortions, more women are going to be pregnant, and more women are going to be forced to carry a pregnancy to term,” 

Women in states with strict abortion laws, like Texas, are more likely to go without prenatal care and less likely to find an appointment with an OB-GYN due to fear among would-be moms, beyond the immediate dangers of pregnancy and childbirth.

Dr. Leah Tatum, an OB-GYN in private practice in Austin, Texas said “Fear is something I’d never seen in practice prior to Senate Bill 8,”

Tatum, who did not participate in the GEPI study, reported that following the state’s abortion prohibition, her patients’ demand for sterilization operations increased. 

That is, following SB 8, women would rather forfeit their ability to procreate than risk getting pregnant.

Tatum added, “Patients feel like they’re backed into a corner, If they already knew that they didn’t want to pursue pregnancy, now they’re terrified.”

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