Texas won't show voters its post-ban maternal death report until after they vote

Texas health officials set a schedule, then realized when the election was. The state's maternal mortality committee documented that its next biennial report would be published by September 1, 2026. They've moved that date, without giving a reason, to December.

Publicly available data is already worth examining. ProPublica found that after Texas imposed abortion restrictions, sepsis among patients hospitalized for second-trimester pregnancy loss rose 55%; a later analysis found blood transfusions during ER visits for first-trimester miscarriage rose 54% after abortion became a felony. Texas's maternal mortality committee conducts detailed case reviews, and its first report with a post-ban cohort is coming after the election.

The new reporting shows that, after the state banned abortion, dozens more pregnant and postpartum women died in Texas hospitals than had in pre-pandemic years, which ProPublica used as a baseline to avoid COVID-19-related distortions. As the maternal mortality rate dropped nationally, ProPublica found, it rose substantially in Texas.

ProPublica's analysis is the most detailed look yet at a rise in life-threatening complications for women losing a pregnancy after Texas banned abortion. It raises concerns that the same pattern may be occurring in more than a dozen other states with similar bans.ProPublica

The numbers we do know are awfully ugly. It is strange that this committee wouldn't want to inform the public as soon as possible. The best reason they've given for the delay is to improve the report's presentation.

Previously:
• Leader of major Texas Anti-Abortion group arrested for soliciting a minor
• Federal judge blocks enforcement of Texas abortion ban
• Texas' abortion laws scare doctors out of even speaking about care
• The Texas Anti-Abortion Law: What Could Happen Next?