WASHINGTON – CBS and Jezebel reported on new DLCC research highlighting the deadly consequences of Republican abortion bans around an already pressing epidemic: Black maternal mortality rates. Black pregnant mothers and babies in the U.S. die at the highest rates across all racial demographics. And the disparities are alarming: Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.
The majority of Black Americans live in states that ban abortions, so they face the compounding impacts of medical racism and deadly abortion bans. Studies show that racial inequities in infant mortality are most severe in states that restrict abortion. Black mothers and babies are suffering at the hands of Republicans whose extreme anti-reproductive freedom agenda is costing them their lives.
From CBS:
- “According to research compiled by the DLCC, the Black maternal mortality rate is significantly higher in Republican-led states with restrictive abortion bans.”
- “‘You know, the abortion bans — and certainly since the fall of Roe — have really jeopardized the health of women in general,’ New York Senate President Pro Tempore Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, told CBS News. ‘And because the Black maternal mortality rates are already alarmingly high, nationally, these bans have only exacerbated the overall reproductive health problems that Black women face. So it’s sad. It’s terribly disappointing.’”
- “Heather Williams, the president of the DLCC, said in a statement, ‘Republicans’ crusade against reproductive freedoms is costing lives —- especially in Black communities. The fall of Roe has compounded the impacts of medical discrimination by opening the floodgates for conservative legislators to pass sweeping abortion bans, which disproportionately impact Black women.’”
From Jezebel:
- “Dwindling or nonexistent access to abortion has made life more dangerous for pregnant people everywhere, but across the deep South, abortion bans have only worsened maternal mortality rates for Black women.
- In a new research memo first shared with Jezebel this week, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee found that southern states that have banned abortion already had the highest maternal mortality rates for Black women in the country, even before Roe fell.”
- “The DLCC’s memo studied seven Southern states, including Louisiana, noting that the majority of Black Americans live in states that ban abortions, where they ‘face the compounding impacts of medical racism and deadly abortion bans.’”
- “In North Carolina, state Sen. Sydney Batch (D) says her state is experiencing a drain in OBGYNs, doctors, and medical residents as a result of their 12-week abortion ban, which took effect in 2023…’These bans have made it very difficult for OBGYNs to stay here. Some are worried about being criminally charged,’ Batch said.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.