Maternal deaths have fallen 20% since overturn of Roe, CDC data show

(LifeSiteNews) — Contrary to one of the abortion lobby’s most persistent talking points, maternal deaths in pregnancy have actually decreased since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In June 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the nation’s highest court ruled 5-4 that Roe, which forced all 50 states to allow most abortions, was “egregiously wrong from the start,” and that nothing in the U.S. Constitution established a “right” to abortion, freeing states to directly set their own abortion laws for the first time in almost half a century.

The abortion lobby, which has long insisted that legal abortion protects women from medical dangers, predicted that maternal mortality would rise as a result of Dobbs, but CDC data so far indicates precisely the opposite.

On March 13, Live Action published an article by prominent pro-life researcher Professor Michael New of the Catholic University of America and Charlotte Lozier Institute, refuting pro-abortion writer Jessica Valenti’s recent claims that pro-life laws were harming women.

Among them, he noted that the U.S. maternal mortality rate has fallen by 19.7 percent since 2022, the year Dobbs was handed down, from 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births that year to 17.9 per 100,000 in 2024.

“Supporters of legal abortion are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts,” New said. “Data from the CDC and other sources show that many public health metrics have improved since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.”

Valenti issued a profanity-laden response faulting New for focusing on national data when she supposedly was referring specifically to pro-life states, prompting New to follow up on March 17.

In her original appearance at issue, however, Valenti “never differentiated between ‘anti-abortion’ states and other states; she simply claimed, ‘the infant mortality rate is going up, the maternal mortality rate is going up,’” New responded. “That aside, Valenti is still incorrect when she claims public health outcomes have worsened in states that have enacted pro-life laws,” noting that she drew unfounded leaps from what her own sources actually said.

By contrast, he wrote, a “2024 Journal of the American Medical Association study analyzed trends in infant mortality rates. In 2023, the study found that states with abortion bans actually had larger declines in the infant mortality rate than states without abortion bans. Overall, only one of the 14 states that enacted an abortion ban experienced a statistically significant increase in the infant mortality rate. There was no large, widespread increase in infant mortality in pro-life states post-Dobbs.” 

Abortion has long been known to be far more dangerous than the industry’s apologists present it as. Abortion facilities across the country are regularly flagged for harming women through botched procedures, unsanitary tools and environments, and lack of regulatory protections, such as requirements for staff to secure admitting privileges at nearby hospitals in the event of complications.

With the rise of abortion pills dispensed by mail in violation of federal law, chemical abortions self-administered completely without medical oversight are certain to increase those harms further still.

Furthermore, even when carried out according to medical protocols, abortion carries grave risks to the health of the mother, not to mention the child being destroyed. According to the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), which represents 7,000 medical professionals who reject the anti-life stance of the medical establishment, “[w]omen face a 35% increased risk of preterm birth in a future pregnancy after one surgical abortion and an almost 90% increase in preterm birth risk after two abortions. The increased risk of future preterm birth for women after they have an abortion represents a clear long-term health risk. Mothers who deliver preterm babies are at a higher risk of medical complications later in life, including cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

“From 1993 to 2018, there are at least 75 studies examining the link between abortion and mental health,” the group continues. “Two-thirds of those studies showed a correlation between abortion and adverse mental health outcomes. Studies show abortion significantly increases the risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior, when compared to women with unintended pregnancies who choose to carry the baby to birth. A study from Finland found a 7x higher suicide rate after abortion compared to when women gave birth.”