Summary
Republican-led states with near-total abortion bans are delaying or halting maternal mortality reviews, raising concerns about efforts to conceal rising deaths.
Texas, where maternal deaths rose 56% from 2019 to 2022, refused to review 2022-2023 cases, citing a backlog.
Investigations found multiple preventable deaths tied to abortion bans, such as Porsha Ngumenzi, who died after being denied miscarriage care.
Georgia fired its entire Maternal Mortality Review Committee after leaks about preventable deaths.
Critics argue these actions aim to suppress evidence linking abortion bans to maternal fatalities, delaying accountability for years.
And then it will be normal and not a big deal
That’s my concern. It’ll go the way of climate change and school shootings.
The narrative will shift from “it doesn’t happen” to “there’s nothing we can do to stop it” to “why even bother? It’s normal so it’s not a big deal.”