FRIDAY, Feb. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- The increased number of state-level abortion restrictions in the United States from 2005 to 2023 was associated with an increase in maternal deaths, according to a study presented at The Pregnancy Meeting, the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, held from Feb. 8 to 13 in Las Vegas.
Marie C. Anderson, M.D., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues investigated the effect of state-level abortion restrictions on maternal deaths in the United States. The analysis included case-level data on deaths in U.S. women (ages 15 to 54 years between 2005 and 2023) identified from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Vital Statistics System.
The researchers found that 22,380 pregnant or postpartum U.S. women died during the study period. The three leading causes of death were violence, unintentional drug overdose, and cardiovascular disease. Over time, the number of abortion restrictions increased from an average of 2.7 to 5.3 restrictions per state. In 2005, only five states had five or more restrictions (considered "most restrictive"); in 2023, 27 states were most restrictive. Six specific abortion restrictions were associated with higher rates of maternal death, while four restrictions were associated with higher rates of violent death. During the pre-Dobbs era, findings were similar, with the most restrictive states having higher rates of maternal deaths from any cause, violent deaths, and cardiovascular disease deaths.
"When states adopt multiple abortion restrictions, we see measurable increases in deaths among pregnant and postpartum people," Anderson said in a statement. "The associations we observed were broad -- affecting deaths from any cause, cardiovascular disease, and violence -- and underscore that reproductive health policy is inseparable from maternal health."