It comes as no surprise that the Texas Department of State Health Services is refusing to release its first maternal death report since the overturning of Roe v. Wade until after the midterms.
The report has traditionally been published every other year on or near Sept. 1, but this year’s report is particularly important because it was expected to include the first full year of data on maternal mortality in the state since the near-total abortion ban took effect in August 2022.
The ban came just two months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Chris Van Deusen, spokesperson for the Department of State Health Services, claims that they’re just taking time to ‘strengthen the report,’ but we know the truth: They don’t want voters to know how many women have died because of their abortion ban.
Texas continues to face a maternal health crisis, with its maternal mortality rate surpassing the national average. And around 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are deemed entirely preventable.
That’s what makes these maternal death reports so critical.
As researcher Faith Fletcher explains, “We need the data so that we can understand why women are dying [and] what are some solutions that we can propose.”
Texas is doing everything in its power to keep this data from coming to light, leaving Texans without this crucial information before heading to the polls to cast their ballots.
In the process, they’re putting politics before women’s lives.
So much for ‘pro-life,’ right?