(LifeSiteNews) — Supporters of the legalized killing of preborn children have once again been caught spreading false information about maternal mortality.
A viral post on social media platform X from an account called “GOP Ls” (meaning Republican Party losses) asserts that “Pregnancy related deaths in Texas have jumped 56% since abortion was banned.”
Similarly, pro-abortion feminist Jessica Valenti recently claimed that Texas’ prohibitions on killing preborn babies is linked to a “56 percent” maternal mortality increase.
However, statistical expert Michael New once again debunked these claims. The claims in the “GOP Ls” account were first spread, and debunked, in 2024.
“Valenti claims that when Texas passed an abortion ban, the maternal mortality increased by 56 percent. This is incorrect,” New, a Catholic University of America professor, wrote for Live Action.
“Valenti likely obtained that figure from the same Gender Equity Policy Institute analysis that, once again, was never peer-reviewed,” New said. “While the analysis did show rising maternal mortality rates in Texas in 2020 and 2021, it also showed the Texas maternal mortality rate fell by more than 35 percent in 2022 – the year the Texas abortion ban took effect.”
Infant mortality also has not increased in pro-life states, New pointed out, citing a Journal of the American Medical Association study.
That pro-life laws are not linked to maternal mortality is a fact confirmed by multiple studies, as LifeSiteNews has previously covered.
Maternal mortality claim latest in series of pro-abortion falsehoods
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion supporters have made a variety of claims, suggesting catastrophic fallout from the passage of pro-life laws.
But upon closer examination, these have continued to fall apart.
For example, some advocates for killing innocent preborn babies in the womb claimed that women would have trouble accessing certain medications.
In 2022, media organizations claimed women with chronic pain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis were allegedly not able to procure a drug called methotrexate because their pharmacists have concerns about being criminally prosecuted. In high doses, the drug can induce an abortion.
However, a LifeSiteNews investigation debunked these claims – one woman making the claim had a history of saying she had difficulty accessing the drugs for her chronic condition due to pharmacy screwups, not pro-life laws.
Leftist news sites also repeated false information that two Georgia women died due to the state’s pro-life laws. Vice President Kamala Harris repeated these smears on the campaign trail. This claim has also been debunked, since the women died from the abortion drugs themselves.