Yet again, the United States is failing women. People giving birth in the U.S. are dying because of political opinions affecting medical care. Multiple cases have been reported of women who suffered painful deaths as a result of abortion bans preventing them from receiving necessary, lifesaving interventions.
These laws are making it nearly impossible for medical professionals in many states to provide the treatment that women need to save their lives. It often has nothing to do with unwanted pregnancies, but with wanted pregnancies that are no longer viable.
Because of strict bans, already born children are losing their mothers, families are losing pieces of their hearts and women are losing their lives. Debatably most concerning is the fact that these state governments are actively working against those who are trying to study the effects of state laws on women’s health. The government has a duty to protect its people, and by restricting their health care options so severely, they are doing the exact opposite. It must be corrected.
On Nov. 25, 2024, ProPublica reported on a fifth woman who died as a result of abortion bans preventing her from receiving the required health care. The mother of two had miscarried, but the fetal tissue was still intrauterine and was causing her to bleed “large clots the size of grapefruit” according to one of the nurses on her case. The treatment that she needed, according to over 12 doctors who were represented in the same article, was a dilation and curettage to remove the fetal tissue and prevent hemorrhaging and infection, as can be read about at bit.ly/42H9N4L. State laws in Texas make the D&C procedure a risk for doctors to perform, as D&Cs can be used for abortion, which has been severely restricted in the state.
Doctors have reported (see bit.ly/3EPagIV) that because of the fear of repercussions (which can be up to 99 years in prison), they see the procedure differently and use it significantly less, even in cases where it would be the best course of treatment. One medical professional, who left her home state to be able to practice safely, said, “Abortion bans put doctors in an impossible position … forcing them to decide whether to risk malpractice or a felony charge.” To make it very clear, medical professionals are changing the way they would normally go about saving lives to accommodate a political policy.
The lack of regulations placed on states for what they can and cannot restrict results in oppressive and dangerous practices that kill. On top of all this, affected states are not looking into the effects of these laws, and are actively shutting down those who do. Committees are blocked, slowed or given legal restrictions to prevent investigation. Because the states wouldn’t do the research, ProPublica did (see bit.ly/42YQOkS). Unsurprisingly, the study found higher rates of maternal deaths, spikes in sepsis rates and many barriers to receiving the necessary information for the study. With statistics such as these, it is not debatable whether these abortion bans harm pregnant women.
The repercussions are clear, the pain is real and the stakes are high. Reproductive health care is a right and needs to be protected for the sake of the safety of women. Abortion services are part of this care. The United States is a country where all are supposed to be treated equally, yet women are at a disproportionate disadvantage with such restrictions on care. It is imperative that the public and the government take steps to fix the policies that contradict this hypocrisy. Action must be taken to rectify this situation, and to make reproductive care safe for women again.
Alyssa Puntin is a master’s in social work student at the University of Colorado. She lives in Hesperus.
