Already, birth rates in states that banned or restricted access to abortion have increased since the Dobbs ruling. State-level abortion bans will undoubtedly prove fatal for some people, particularly Black people and children, who are more likely to die before, during and after childbirth than White women and children. Read more at 19th News
As Anya Cook sat at the hairdresser, she thought she might die. The night before, her water had broken. But being only about 16 weeks along in her pregnancy—six weeks before a fetus can potentially survive on its own outside the uterus—she’d known something was wrong; her husband, Derick Cook, had rushed her to the … Read more
The suit brought by the Center for Reproductive Freedom charges that many of the 22 women were denied care because, despite the severity of the damage that the nonviable pregnancy was doing their body, doctors told them they weren’t quite sick enough for it to be clearly life threatening. Read more at The Hill
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has not responded to multiple requests from NPR for comment on the new plaintiffs, but in filings, lawyers for the state argue that these women were not harmed by the state’s abortion laws. They say the law is clear, the exception is sufficient as is, and suggest that doctors … Read more
Now, though, Mathisen has gone public with her story. She is one of 20 Texas women who have sued their home state, arguing that they were denied medically necessary abortions. While Texas bans almost all abortions, the procedure, according to state law, should be allowed in medical emergencies. But abortion rights advocates and doctors in … Read more
Liz Kirby, Monroe County Hospital’s CEO, said a physician shortage was behind the closing. After the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, some hospitals in states with strict abortion bans have warned that it could become harder to recruit OB-GYNs, though Kirby said she wasn’t aware of that as a factor in this case. Residency … Read more
The state has one of the country’s highest maternal mortality rates. Now, three hospitals plan to stop delivering babies, putting some pregnant women at even higher risk. Read more at NBC News
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the state’s GOP-led Legislature has disbanded a maternal mortality committee, failed to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage and turned down federal grants for child care. Read more at ProPublica
The growing lack of reproductive health and abortion access can increasingly cause mothers and their families to face poorer health outcomes, according to Rodríguez, as more people are forced to travel across multiple state lines to access care in a timely manner. This is a difficult task, she added, considering the costs of travel and … Read more
As a whole, the situation has left mothers-to-be in Bonner County to contend with an unexpected consequence of their state’s abortion policy: reduced access to medical care for women whose pregnancies are very much wanted. Read more at NBC News
