Some Republican-led states that passed near-total abortion bans have mysteriously stopped collecting statistics on maternal mortality over the last couple of years — and some observers suspect it's not a coincidence, wrote Susan Rinkunas for MSNBC.This comes as reports begin to trickle in of cases o...

Summary

Republican-led states with near-total abortion bans are delaying or halting maternal mortality reviews, raising concerns about efforts to conceal rising deaths.

Texas, where maternal deaths rose 56% from 2019 to 2022, refused to review 2022-2023 cases, citing a backlog.

Investigations found multiple preventable deaths tied to abortion bans, such as Porsha Ngumenzi, who died after being denied miscarriage care.

Georgia fired its entire Maternal Mortality Review Committee after leaks about preventable deaths.

Critics argue these actions aim to suppress evidence linking abortion bans to maternal fatalities, delaying accountability for years.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
    267·
    19 days ago

    Texas … refused to review 2022-2023 cases, citing a backlog.

    “There’s too many cases of maternal death, so we’re just going to stop looking at them.”

    Good job, Texas.

    • StopTouchingYourPhone@lemmy.world
      22·
      18 days ago

      Like the hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits that piled up over the decades.

      Boxes about the size of a hardcover book each held evidence of a reported sexual assault – dried swabs of saliva and semen and blood, strands of hair, debris scraped from under fingernails. Each was collected from a person, most of them women and girls, during an hours long exam. And each was shelved without being processed for DNA. The evidence crowded storerooms, tangible proof of law enforcement’s failure to support victims and hold rapists accountable.

      Testing the kits was supposed to be the first step in righting that wrong. In some places that received federal grants, not even that happened.

      At least a dozen grant recipients carved out exceptions to testing, leaving kits unprocessed for a second time. In one California county, officials boasted they had cleared their backlog, but only after deeming more than half of their kits ineligible for testing.

      In many cases, officials have done little beyond sending the kits to a lab, reviewing the results and again closing the files. In Maryland, according to a state report, some law enforcement agencies have shown “significant reluctance” to reopen investigations and have even stated outright that they are disregarding DNA matches.

      What’s more, some officials all but abandoned the idea of providing victims answers about what happened to their rape kits or apologies for how long testing took. One Kansas police agency has tried to reach just 17 victims from roughly 1,100 sexual assault kits. An official there said there are instances where DNA testing has identified the names of suspects for the first time but the victims have not been told, because officials don’t think their cases can be prosecuted.

  • affiliate@lemmy.world
    169·
    19 days ago

    if covid taught us anything, it’s that the easiest way to make a problem “go away” is to stop collecting data about it

  • metaStatic@kbin.earth
    431·
    19 days ago

    if there isn’t already a mutual aid network then start one. Women need to leave states where they have less rights than a dog while they still have the right to leave.

        • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world
          51·
          19 days ago

          Is the updated version worth it? I loved that game as a kid, but can’t find it in me to fork over $60 just to play with better graphics.

          • ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            4·
            18 days ago

            I had fun with it. I haven’t finished all the bonus bosses after beating the game. The graphics were well done and the game play was as enjoyable as ever. They added some new super moves which was cool.

            This was one of my first games as a kid and was a defining experience for my childhood. I’ve replayed the original a lot over the years.

            The remake did not disappoint. Highly recommend. =D

            Also the Super Mario Guy RPG series. From what I recall they didn’t finish. But, what they did finish was really well done. The Family Guy voices are spot on. And it’s really funny.

            Oh and the puzzles in Bowser’s Castle are now playable. Like, the ball clearing puzzle is actually a lot of fun when the inputs work.

          • samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            18 days ago

            As a big fan of the original, I loved it. It’s pretty much a perfect remake. It does have new post-game content, but $60 is still pretty steep if you’ve played the original. I’d wait for a sale or get it used.

  • NatakuNox@lemmy.world
    25·
    18 days ago

    This is what they want. Getting pregnant in red states is literally too dangerous. Their birth rate is going to hot rock bottom in the next 4 years. Women communicate about this stuff, so even if the government isn’t reporting on it but the rates are so high every women will eventually know someone personally that died because of these bans.

    • chingadera@lemmy.world
      23·
      18 days ago

      They’re not targeting us, they’re targeting future women that won’t know anything about rape, sexual assault, sex Ed, etc. once they complete dismantling the education system. If this trend continues, they’re gonna get what they want. Organize, and be vocal outside of lemmy. Yes we’re all talking about it, but no one else is. Talk about it, be unfriended, stand up or shut up.

      And as a quick aside, imagine being such a colossal pussy, that you have to dictate what other people do because you’re afraid of women and or your own sexuality. These are the people we’re talking about about. I used to think that “oh no one is better than anyone else” but we absolutely have to be better than these people. They’re fucking monsters and they’re going to keep ruining our shit.

      • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
        12·
        18 days ago

        That’s my concern. It’ll go the way of climate change and school shootings.

        The narrative will shift from “it doesn’t happen” to “there’s nothing we can do to stop it” to “why even bother? It’s normal so it’s not a big deal.”

  • itsJoelle@lemmy.world
    18·
    19 days ago

    To be fair, they can get away with this just because the anti-choice stance is so ravenous they have a self-righteous-sized blind spot for preventable suffering of others.

    Sadly, this won’t be covered broadly enough or penetrate the bubbles it needs to for opinion to change. Even in 2024 only 9% of voters listed abortion as their most important issue. Where 48% listed inflation, “the economy”, or immigration as their most important issue. Draw from that what you will, but I don’t think the average voter understands the … externalities of strong anti-abortion measures.