A new study paints a stark picture of the consequences flowing from the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Released by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the report estimates that approximately 65,000 pregnancies related to rape took place in states that subsequently enacted abortion bans, FOX 7 Austin reports.
The study utilized data on crime and sexual violence from federal surveys to assess the number of rape-related pregnancies from July 1, 2022, to Jan. 1, 2024. The findings revealed 519,981 completed rapes during the period in question, out of which 64,565 resulted in pregnancies. Based on the data, 5,586 rape-related pregnancies occurred in the states with exceptions for rape in their abortion bans. However, "few (if any) victims received an in-state abortion legally," according to The Hill.
The analysis identifies Texas with the highest rate of pregnancies from rape at 26,313. This is more than fourfold the second state on the list, Missouri, which is estimated to have had 5,825 such pregnancies. The study includes a total of 14 states in its sweep: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Texas.
Despite acknowledging some limitations of their study, the researchers point out a grim reality. “The large number of estimated rape-related pregnancies in abortion ban states compared with the 10 or fewer legal abortions per month occurring in each of those states indicates that persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions,” they detailed in the study.
Speaking to potential conflicts of interest, the study points out two researchers' connections to abortion advocacy. Samuel L. Dickman is not only the Medical Director at Planned Parenthood of Montana but is also actively involved in lawsuits addressing abortion access. Furthermore, Kari White had been compensated by pro-abortion access groups in the past. The implications of such affiliations are left for readers to weigh against the stark data presented in this recent study.
