State restrictions on abortion, since the Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the US constitution does not confer a right to abortion, are creating risks to pregnant people nationwide. Women are dying preventable deaths because abortion care is denied or delayed due to state restrictions.
Thirteen states enforce complete abortion bans, while others impose harsh limits on when a pregnancy can be ended. According to the Gender Equity Policy Institute, women in states with abortion bans are twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as those in states where abortion is legal and accessible. Women of color, in particular, are disproportionately harmed.
Women’s access to reproductive healthcare services, an essential element of their right to health, has also been severely restricted by financial cuts and limitations, including for Planned Parenthood, Medicaid, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Pregnant women and adolescents have been detained under the administration’s ongoing brutal immigration enforcement and are unable to access adequate healthcare services while in detention. Some have had miscarriages while experiencing medical neglect.
Two Tennessee Republicans recently proposed a bill that would make it possible to sentence women to death for having an abortion.
Anti-abortion groups are also attempting to block or severely restrict access nationwide to mifepristone, the drug used for medical abortion. Despite its more than two decades of safe use in the US, and its recognition as a safe, effective medication used in nearly 100 countries worldwide. Six states are currently engaged in three federal lawsuits challenging the use of mifepristone.
International human rights law affirms that access to reproductive health care is closely linked to the rights to life, health, privacy, equality, and freedom from discrimination. Restrictive abortion laws can also constitute discriminatory access barriers that undermine women’s right to health.
The US continues to have the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income nations around the globe, even as it is attempting to further limit access to reproductive health services. Data shows that 80 percent of maternal deaths in the US are preventable. On this International Women’s Day, it is time to remind US decision-makers that access to reproductive health care, including safe and legal abortion, is a human right.
