Banning Abortion and the Potential Increase in the Maternal Mortality Rate

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe Vs. Wade ending the right to abortion for some U.S citizens. According to Plan Parenthood; Abortion is a medical procedure done to terminate a pregnancy whether it be unwanted or for medical reasons. With Roe V. Wade being overturned it has opened doors for some US states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and many more to implement strict abortion laws; But what does this mean for the United States actively increasing Maternal Mortality rate?

What Is A Maternal Mortality Rate?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period. Maternal Mortality is a significant Human Rights issue that can potentially increase with the recent abortion restrictions put into place; we can only expect the numbers to continue to increase at a faster rate. According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2019 754 women died of maternal causes in the US with a rate of 20.1, compared to 2020 which was 861 women with a rate of 23.8.

With the US Maternal Mortality rapidly increasing Minority groups such as Black mothers continue to lead with the highest mortality rate. One of the factors behind the high black maternal mortality rate is the racial disparities in healthcare; such as implicit bias and myths in medicine that can affect the lives of African Americans in healthcare. One of the myths known as the Pain Myth continues to put out an image that African Americans can not feel pain and overexaggerate. With the Implicit Biases displayed in medicine and the restrictive abortion laws, we can expect to see more Maternal Deaths specifically in Black Women, as the American Healthcare system is in dire need of reform and need to be more affordable.

The American Healthcare System

The United States is the only developed country that has no Universal Healthcare making it hard for poor people to access proper healthcare. When you have insurance, the insurance company pays a fraction of your medical expenses; nevertheless, if you do not have insurance, you may very well be hit with a major medical bill that, if not paid, may be turned over to a debt collection agency, and you may be sued for unpaid medical bills. For many poor and low-income families, unaffordable healthcare can be a reason to seek an abortion because without one they face a higher risk of maternal death.

According to the American Public Health Association (APHA), “Women living in counties with higher concentrations of poverty also face significantly higher risks of maternal death, with women in middle- and high-poverty areas facing a 60% and 100% greater risk of maternal mortality, respectively, than women living in low-poverty areas.” One of the reasons why the maternal death risk for middle and high-poverty communities is so high is because of the lack of access to good healthcare. According to Forbes “Women who seek abortions are more than three times as likely to be poor; 49% are poor while the national poverty rate is about 12%.” Maternal death in low-income communities will increase significantly if affordable healthcare is not accessible. Poor women are more likely to seek abortion as affordable child care is not within reach and America and unfortunately the American workforce often fails to accommodate working parents and pregnant; as America does not offer paid leave to new mothers. Due to abortion access being limited and affordable healthcare unattainable, it makes room for unsafe abortion which only makes room for unsafe abortions.

Unsafe Abortion the Leading Cause?

According to the World Health Organization, an Unsafe Abortion is “a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards or both.” Unsafe abortion is easily preventable if we can make abortion more accessible. With abortion recent abortion restrictions put into place in most southern states, we can expect unsafe abortions to be a rising public health issue. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Abortion-related deaths are more frequent in countries with more restrictive abortion laws (34 deaths per 100,000 childbirths) than in countries with less restrictive laws (1 or fewer per 100,000 childbirths).” With less restrictive abortion laws we can possibly lower the rate of unsafe abortion while offering more support and more ways to access contraceptives and affordable healthcare. Another way we can stop unsafe abortions is by offering sex education in school, which covers safe sex practices we can also lower teen pregnancy.

While Congress has left the idea of sex education to the states, In the article Sex Education USA State Laws and Regulations written by Lydia Wilimits, “22 states require that abstinence is stressed in sex education and do not require that contraception is covered,” but staying abstinence is not enough. Only talking about staying abstinent isn't sex education, the topic of safe sex and contraceptives need to be taught more in schools to prevent teen pregnancy and to educate students more on safe sex practices that can carry on through their life. There is nothing wrong with educating teens on condoms and birth control, but stressing abstinence is failing students who don’t want to take that route and have no education about safe sex.

Overall, banning abortions does nothing but rapidly increase our Maternal Mortality Rate, and with the lack of sex education and affordable healthcare, women will continue to be affected by the high risk of Maternal Death.

How Can I Help?

1. Vote, with midterms elections coming up in November and the 2024 election right around the corner abortion rights are on the ballot this year, and elect officials who support the fight for abortion.

Register to Vote: https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

2. Donate to Abortion Funds:

• https://www.yellowhammerfund.org/

• https://abortionfunds.org/

• https://prochoice.org/patients/naf-hotline/

• https://secure.actblue.com/donate/supportabortionfunds

3. To get more sex education in schools, go to your local school board

Works Cited

Haddad, Lisa B, and Nawal M Nour. “Unsafe abortion: unnecessary maternal mortality.” Reviews in obstetrics & gynecology vol. 2,2 (2009): 122-6.

Chemweno, Johonniuss. “The U.S. Healthcare System is Broken: A National Perspective.” Managed Healthcare Executive, 27 July 2021,

https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/the-u-s-healthcare-system-is-broken-a-national-perspective. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Ghilarducci, Teresea. “Home.” Forbes, 5 December 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresaghilarducci/2021/12/24/59-of-women-seeking-abortions-are-mothers-facing-high-poverty-risk/?sh=7dbf5f34264f. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Mangan, Dan. “Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of federal abortion rights.” CNBC, 24 June 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/roe-v-wade-overturned-by-supreme-court-ending-federal-abortion-rights.html. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Marshall, Lisa. “Study: Banning abortion would boost maternal mortality by double-digits.” University of Colorado Boulder, 8 September 2021, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/09/08/study-banning-abortion-would-boost-maternal-mortality-double-digits. Accessed 24 September 2022.

McCammon, Sarah. “With Roe v. Wade overturned, new abortion bans are taking effect nationwide.” NPR, 23 August 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/08/23/1118846811/two-months-after-the-dobbs-ruling-new-abortion-bans-are-taking-hold. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Petersen, Emily E. “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related Deaths — United States, 2007–2016 | MMWR.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 September 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6835a3.htm. Accessed 24 September 2022.

“Reducing US Maternal Mortality as a Human Right.” American Public Health Association, https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2014/07/11/15/59/reducing-us-maternal-mortality-as-a-human-right. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Smith, Morgan. “3 ways the Supreme Court's decision on abortion could hurt women in the workplace.” CNBC, 29 June 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/29/supreme-court-abortion-decision-could-hurt-women-in-the-workplace.html. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Stevenson, Amanda. “Black Women Over Three Times More Likely to Die in Pregnancy, Postpartum Than White Women, New Research Finds.” Population Reference Bureau, 6 December 2021, https://www.prb.org/resources/black-women-over-three-times-more-likely-to-die-in-pregnancy-postpartum-than-white-women-new-research-finds/. Accessed 24 September 2022.

“Tracking the States Where Abortion Is Now Banned.” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Treisman, Rachel. “States with abortion bans also have worse health outcomes for moms and kids.” NPR, 18 August 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1111344810/abortion-ban-states-social-safety-net-health-outcomes. Accessed 24 September 2022.

Wilimitis, Lydia. “Sex Education USA State Laws and Regulations.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 6 May 2021, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ed634cf870724768ad832464b905d7da. Accessed 21 September 2022.