Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, many states have chosen to ban abortions. Most abortions are banned in 13 states as of Oct. 7, including Idaho.
There are also more states are expected to follow suit. States that don’t have full abortion bans, there still may be restrictions or limited access. These bans on abortion are dangerous, and they may have detrimental effects on both the baby and the person carrying it.
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate out of any developed country. There are around 700 women who die from pregnancy-related complications in the U.S. every year, and about three in five of those deaths could be prevented. Doctors are concerned that maternal mortality rates will increase with decreased access to safe and legal abortions.
In 2020 the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is the highest it had been since before Roe v. Wade was overturned. For Black people, the rate was 55.3 deaths, which is almost three times higher than that of white people.
Increased annual maternal death rates would likely “be concentrated among people who are living below the federal poverty line, people of color,” said Lauren Ralph, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.
This is especially concerning because Black people are the most likely to seek out an abortion out of any race and, in general, are more likely to be denied healthcare.
In addition, women who are denied an abortion are at a higher risk of pregnancy-related health issues such as preeclampsia, seizures and gestational diabetes. This is partially due to the increased delay in prenatal care, especially in unintended pregnancies, where the woman is more likely to experience these problems. These health issues may even continue after the pregnancy.
Also, women who do not have access to abortions are more likely to experience socioeconomic hardships such as food insecurity, bankruptcy and eviction. These are all issues that can persist for years after the denial.
Women who were denied an abortion are also more likely to experience violent and abusive relationships and are more likely to stay with a toxic partner. Women who report violence as the reason to end a pregnancy describe not wanting to expose their children to violence and/or have them end up in an abusive relationship. They are more likely to raise a child alone and without the help of a partner or family, as well.
According to the Journal of Pediatrics, about 60% of women in the U.S. who seek abortions have children, and about a third of women who want to terminate their pregnancy do so because they want to care for the children they already have.
If a woman is denied an abortion and already has kids, then the kids may also be affected by the consequences of poverty or violence, and their overall wellbeing would therefore also be impacted.
Not only can pregnancy increase the risk of certain health conditions and possibly death; banning abortions undermines a woman’s autonomy, as well as their ability to make decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health.
During the trial of Roe v. Wade, Roe argued that making abortions illegal was unconstitutional according to the Ninth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Ninth Amendment says that people retain rights that are not explicitly stated in the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, and the rights stated in them are not used as the exclusive rights of the people. Therefore, having access to abortions is a right, and many people across the country are being denied that right.
Another important case when talking about abortion rights is the 1992 case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It was argued that there were unnecessary roadblocks that made access to abortion difficult in the state of Texas, which is unconstitutional. Roe v. Wade more so argued the right to privacy, which also goes against the Constitution.
It is also worth mentioning that abortions might be banned, but that does not mean that there will be less abortions; it just means that there will be more unsafe abortions. Unless every state legalizes and provides access for abortions, people will continue to feel the negative impacts of the bans.
Vanessa Werner can be reached at [email protected]