Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found. The risk is greatest for Black women in states with bans, who are 3.3 times more likely to die than White women in those same states with abortion bans that are linked to higher mortality for pregnant people.

The Gender Equity Policy Institute, a nonprofit research and policy organization that put out the report, found that since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, pregnancy-related death rates have declined in states that protect abortion access and increased in Texas, the largest state to ban the procedure. The report found that pregnant Black women, White women and Latinas are all at greater risk of death in states with abortion bans than they would be if they lived in states that protect abortion rights.

“There are two Americas for reproductive-aged women and people who can become pregnant in the United States,” said Nancy Cohen, founder of the Gender Equity Policy Institute, regarding abortion bans being linked to higher mortality for pregnant people. “One America, where you’re at serious risk of major health complications or death if you become pregnant, and one where you’re most likely to have a positive birth experience, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy child.”

Researchers compared pregnancy-related deaths in states where abortion is almost completely banned and where it is protected. (The World Health Organization defines pregnancy-related deaths as ones experienced while pregnant or within 42 days of the pregnancy ending, and only if the death was “from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.”) The report relies on data from the federal government’s National Vital Statistics Section, analyzing pregnancy-related deaths from 2019 through 2023. The data focused on people who identified as “mother” and did not specifically study pregnancy-related deaths for transgender and nonbinary people.

Health care providers have warned for years that abortion bans pose risks to pregnant patients’ lives and that abortion bans linked to higher mortality for pregnant people. Though these laws have narrow exceptions if the abortion is necessary to save a pregnant person’s life, doctors have reported that their language is vague and confusing. As a result, many have said they have had to wait until a patient is approaching death before they can intervene, at which point it may be too late.

Read the full article about abortion bans and maternal mortality rates by Shefali Luthra at The 19th.