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The Grim Cost of Dogmatic Control
When principium bends to fanaticism, what follows is rarely benign. The escalating maternal mortality rates in Texas since its 2021 abortion ban offer a grave illustration of this truth. It’s a story that should alarm anyone, regardless of political affiliation, but particularly those who still cling to the hope that individual freedom means something in this country.
As it stands, the state’s draconian law has exposed a chilling reality: denying basic healthcare not only strips women of their rights but also dooms many of them to perilous outcomes. In the rush to force pregnancies to term, Texas is creating casualties—one mother at a time.
We must begin with the zeitgeist of the post-2021 era. Texas lawmakers, emboldened by a Supreme Court leaning their way, passed legislation that effectively criminalized abortion after five weeks of pregnancy. With the zeal of crusaders, they cheered a policy that claimed to protect life.
But what has life become for those women denied access to critical reproductive care? According to a recent analysis, maternal mortality rates in Texas have surged by 56% from 2019 to 2022. It’s an unforgiving statistic.
Yet, the true horror lies in the disparity: while maternal deaths have risen nationwide by only 11% in the same timeframe, Texas stands as a grim outlier.
To say that Texas’ abortion ban is a contributing factor to this tragedy is no longer controversial. It’s ineffable in its simplicity. When you force women to carry pregnancies they may not be physically, financially, or emotionally equipped to handle, the risks increase.
Researchers note that denying abortion access puts these women in perilous situations, subjecting them to the dangerous process of childbirth when, in many cases, they would have made another choice. Among the hardest hit are Hispanic and Black women—demographics that were already suffering from higher maternal mortality rates before 2021. The gap has widened into a chasm. Why are we allowing this to happen?
The apologists for these abortion restrictions often invoke the sanctity of life as their raison d'être. But their supposed concern for life…
