A Texas abortion ban sponsor aims to clarify when doctors can do the procedure

Despite the Trump administration exhorting Americans to have more babies, pregnancy can be a dangerous endeavor in the United States. Geography matters. A recent report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute showed that the risk of maternal death in Texas is 155 percent higher than it is in California, where 9.5 women per 100,000 died. … Read more

Georgia mother says she is being forced to keep brain-dead pregnant daughter alive under abortion ban law

A spokesperson for Emory Healthcare said it “uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia’s abortion laws and all other applicable laws.” Read more at NBC News  

People in states with abortion bans are twice as likely to die during pregnancy

Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found. The risk is greatest for Black women in states with bans, who are 3.3 times more likely to die than White women in those same states. Read more … Read more

How Trump’s CDC Purge Will Affect Reproductive Health: ‘Women Will Die’

“We cannot understand factors associated with poor pregnancy outcomes without surveillance like PRAMs,” Taylor says. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of all high-income countries, and experts fear that reducing research on prevention will make things even worse. “If we don’t understand those factors, U.S. maternal morbidity and mortality will continue to worsen. … Read more

US doctors describe three patient deaths that could have been prevented with abortion access in new study

Bernard added: “While some cases are deemed newsworthy, these daily injuries and death are not even counted, much less made public. Nobody will ever know how many women have been harmed or died because of abortion bans preventing appropriate medical care.” Read more at The Guardian  

‘A scary time to be a scientist’: how medical research cuts will hurt the maternal mortality crisis

The US maternal mortality rate almost doubled between 2018 and 2022, with rates of deaths among Black and Indigenous expecting or new mothers increasing at a disproportionally fast clip. States that Donald Trump won may be hit especially hard by NIH cuts: they are home to some of the country’s worst maternal mortality rates. To … Read more

How the abortion rights landscape changed in 2024

As I’ve reported for Salon this year, the direct and indirect effects of abortion bans and restrictions impact far more than just people who can get pregnant. From putting pressure on care in states where abortion remains accessible to inflicting trauma and grief on those who are forced to travel to access care, here’s how … Read more