The Politicization of Maternal Mortality Data

The most compelling argument for legal abortion is the specter of what happens when it is banned, because abortion saves lives. Antiabortion activists are working to reframe the narrative, insisting that abortion restrictions do not contribute to maternal deaths and that maternal mortality data is flawed. This presentation traces the roots of this argument to mid-20th century America, when maternal mortality rates plummeted while abortion remained illegal. In the 1950s, antiabortion physicians collected statistical evidence comparing Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals in an attempt to prove that therapeutic abortion was not necessary to reduce maternal mortality. This history sheds light on contemporary efforts to politicize maternal mortality data in light of the 2022 Dobbs ruling allowing states to regulate abortion.