By Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline.org In the year after the U.S.
Supreme Court dismantled the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, more than 200 pregnant women faced criminal charges for conduct associated with their pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth, according to a new report. The report was produced by Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of pregnant people, including the right to abortion. Researchers in multiple states documented 210 cases of women being charged for pregnancy-related conduct in 12 states from June 24, 2022, to June 23, 2023, the first year after the U.
S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, throwing the issue to the states. The majority of charges alleged substance use during pregnancy; in two-thirds of cases, it was the only allegation made against the defendant.
Six states — Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas — accounted for the majority of cases documented by researchers. The new report utilizes improved data collection, making comparisons with previous versions difficult. But “what we found was even more of an acceleration in pregnancy criminalization as compared to before” the Supreme Court’s ruling, said Lourdes Rivera, president of Pregnancy Justice.
Rivera said she thinks that in states with abortion bans or new restrictions, there is more scrutiny of pregnancy loss. However, almost none of the prosecutions documented by researchers were brought u.