At the Center on Society and Health, our primary charge is to shed light on conditions that cause and exacerbate health inequities. We believe that understanding the root causes of inequities in health helps to remedy injustices and improve health for everyone. As such, we are deeply troubled by the recently enacted “Texas Heartbeat Act,” which amounts to a ban on abortions. Mounting threats in states across the country to challenge the longstanding precedents established under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey threaten not only freedom of choice and bodily autonomy but also access to health care. These restrictions will disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color and widen health inequities that are already too large. 

Years of research have documented the harmful effects of restricting a woman’s* ability to plan the number and spacing of children and of creating a legal environment in which abortions are unsafe and lethal. 

Those who seek but are denied abortions are more likely to: 

• Experience economic hardships and insecurity, which in turn can harm the financial wellbeing and development of their children and family members.
• Remain with, and be harmed by, a violent partner.
• Experience severe pregnancy complications, ranging from eclampsia to death following delivery. Maternal and infant mortality rates are higher in states with more abortion restrictions.
• Lose access to other health care services. Clinics that offer abortion services are often primary care providers for a range of women’s health needs, including cancer screening. 

Women who are denied legal options for abortions are more likely to perform the procedure themselves or to rely on someone who is incompetent or lacks access to modern instruments and sterile techniques. History documents that women who resorted to these options in the era of illegal abortions were more likely to experience hemorrhage or sepsis, retain foreign bodies, and die from complications. A 1975 analysis estimated that the risk of dying from an illegal abortion was eight times that of dying from a legal abortion. That ratio is likely to be higher today, given modern advances that have made legal abortions much safer. Were abortion to be banned nationwide, it is estimated that pregnancy-related deaths would increase by 21% after the first year (33% for pregnant women who are Black). 

State laws are ineffective in reducing the frequency of abortions. Those with the means to travel and pay for the procedure can seek safe abortions in states where they are legal, while others will obtain them under riskier and sometimes life-threatening conditions. Restrictions and bans will do little to prevent abortions but will increase the risk of pregnancy-related deaths. The best way to reduce the number of abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancies and support individuals and families through comprehensive sex education, contraceptive services, and public policies that promote economic and social wellbeing. 

At the Center on Society and Health we recognize that Americans hold different views about the propriety of abortion. We respect that diversity, and believe that those who learn they are pregnant have a right to make choices that are in accordance with their beliefs, but recent efforts to ban abortions completely are unconscionable. They demean women by removing their autonomy over their lives and bodies, and they threaten public health. The Center on Society and Health has remained silent on this topic for many years, but to be silent now in the face of current events is to be complicit, and that violates our commitment to public health, justice, and equity. We invite everyone, whether we agree on this issue or not, to join us in pursuing improvements to community conditions—such as education, housing, and childcare—in order to create a society that is more conducive to starting or growing a family for all who choose to.​​   

*Although women are the primary targets of these restrictions, the Center acknowledge that these laws not only effect women but those who identify as non-binary or transgender.