Misleading Claims About Abortion Laws

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Every few months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs decision, another article claims that prolife laws are keeping women from essential medical care, and higher rates of maternal mortality are inevitable. The most recent example is an article in ProPublica magazine, which asserted in its title: “Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.” 

Though the authors were careful to acknowledge that other factors were involved, the clear insinuation of the article was that medical professionals in prolife states are either too afraid to offer proper care or are banned from giving it. According to the article: 

ProPublica analyzed the data collected from every state by the CDC to look for patterns. The analysis shows a growing divide for women in states with strict abortion bans compared with those without. While the uptick in ectopic deaths occurred nationwide, the climb has been much steeper in states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.  

Of course, the article ignores the first and central fact of any abortion, which is that every single one kills. The article also ignored other studies that found no correlation between legalized abortion and better health outcomes for women. As LiveAction summarized, one study that looked at the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) around the world: 

Countries that have legalized abortion such as South Africa, India, Nepal, Cambodia, and Guyana have not seen the predicted maternal health benefits. By contrast, several countries that disallow abortion, such as Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Uganda have seen significant reductions in maternal mortality. 

For abortion advocates, abortion is healthcare. Thus, unlimited rights to an abortion are essential for any society that cares about women. Any regulation on abortion will inevitably lead to suffering for women. The conclusion must be that Dobbs is killing women.  

However, the data cited by ProPublica simply does not support blaming the increased rates of maternal mortality on new prolife laws. In fact, it points to a different cause altogether. As Ryan T. Anderson summarized in a post on X, “The big jump in ectopic-related deaths occurs a year before Dobbs . . . and occurs in both pro-life and pro-abortion states.” Jamie Bryan Hall also addressed the numbers in an article for National Review Online: 

In the 21 years from 1999 to 2021, the United States averaged 4.2 ectopic-pregnancy-related deaths per million live births. Suddenly, in 2021, this figure surged to a peak of 9.8. It has averaged 7.8 over the past five years, which are five of the seven worst years for ectopic-pregnancy-related deaths since 1999. 

In other words, how can post-Dobbs laws be blamed for what happened before Dobbs was decided? It can’t. In fact, another culprit better fits the timing. A far more likely explanation is that the sudden rise in chemical abortions in the last few years—which the same pro-abortion advocates claim is “as safe as Tylenol”-is what is killing women.  

Even more suspicious is how the spike in maternal deaths corresponds to the FDA loosening regulations on the abortion pill regimen. Today, as Michael J. New explained for National Review Online, prescriptions no longer require an in-person visit, a follow-up visit, an ultrasound or a visit to a local pharmacist. Prescriptions for the abortion pill regimen are often given via telehealth “visits” and delivered through the mail.  

Even if the FDA’s loosening of regulations is not the sole cause of this spike in maternal deaths, the first pill in the abortion regimen, mifepristone, is far more dangerous than advertised, with complications that include bleeding and even death. When these side effects are tied to the already dangerous crisis of ectopic pregnancy, the outcome is darkly unsurprising. 

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John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.