Sarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
An absolutely gut-wrenching piece today from ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-sepsis-maternal-mortality-analysis
Contains the unsurprising news that #MaternalDeaths go up when #ReproductiveFreedom is stripped away. 👇
Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.

ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.

ProPublica
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025

I'm often a skeptic on the numbers cited in reporting, because PPL DON'T UNDERSTAND RATIOS (I blog about that periodically), but these researchers established a clear baseline for comparison. HOWEVER ... it's important to note that #MaternalDeaths are strongly differentiated by race & ethnicity in this country:

https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/688063d3176311f3b2ee6c14f02bf4e4/rtc-maternal-health.pdf

Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
Basically, things were rocking along, and the right amount of sepsis is 0 but the next-best amount is the least you can manage ... and then look at that line. #sepsis #preventabledeaths
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
A friend of mine lost a baby that he and the mom both very much wanted to #abortion - a D&C - because of this exact sepsis problem.
Even if Mom survived, the doctors said, a uterine infection would likely end their hopes of trying again.
They were weeks - I think about a month - to viability.
That Mom almost decided to take the risk anyway tells you how much she wanted that little girl.
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.
I've spent most of the past 2wks writing blog articles for a law firm that handles malpractice cases (I am Not A Lawyer & nothing you see here is legal advice). USUALLY, when doctors fail to apply the #StandardOfCare for XYZ condition, they are susceptible to accusations of negligence (would still have to be proven in court, obvs). #AbortionBans like these throw medical best practices out the window & leave #healthcare pros to practice CYA instead.
Feb 22, 2025 at 1:29amWeb
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
And if you were thinking, "Man, maybe #MaternityCare in TX is just really going downhill overall" ... ProPublica thought about that, too.
The visual is STARK.
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
I'm a huge nerd for research. Mad props to the ProPublica team. ZERO props to the legislators who created the conditions under which #MaternalDeaths in TX **ROSE** by one-third when the rest of the country saw them FALL by nearly 8% over the same period. #AbortionCareIsHealthcare
Show threadSarah G. Carpenter, Ph.D.Feb 22, 2025
The piece quotes a couple of lawmakers + assorted law-adjacent sources as saying, basically, "Something ought to be done" ... but, so far, nobody is actually DOING anything.
Meanwhile, the Angel of Death - er, I mean, Gov. Abbott - insists everything's fine.
Probably because, for at least some Republicans, the increase in #MaternalDeaths isn't a bug - it's a feature.
#eugenicists are kinda ok w/losing a few women along the way to stronger breeding stock, right??
/end