Daily, 134 Pregnancy Cases from Rape in Abortion-Ban States
TL/DR –
A new analysis by the Center for American Progress Action (CAP) reveals that from July 1, 2022, to January 1, 2024, an estimated 134 rape-induced pregnancies occurred each day in the 14 states with an abortion ban. Furthermore, this figure is believed to be an underestimation since many women do not report being raped. The analysis also shows that there are significantly fewer legal abortions taking place in these states, indicating a vast gap between the estimated need for abortion care and the actual care being provided.
State abortion bans’ daily impact revealed by Center for American Progress Action’s new analysis
Republicans’ push to make abortion access a state’s rights issue masks the harsh post-Dobbs reality, according to a recent Center for American Progress (CAP) Action analysis.
CAP Action’s analysis uncovers an alarming 134 rape-induced pregnancies daily in the 14 states with an abortion ban from July 1, 2022, to January 1, 2024. These figures, likely lower than the actual numbers due to the underreporting of sexual assaults, expose the painful daily consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.
Abortion and reproductive rights remain key issues for voters as the 2024 Presidential election approaches.
The Republican party’s anti-abortion stance has left it politically vulnerable, prompting attempts by former President Donald Trump to revise his record on the issue. Conversely, Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to restore reproductive rights nationwide on her campaign, criticizing the state’s rights approach advocated by Trump.
Harris, on the Call Her Daddy podcast, questioned the ability of state decision makers to dictate what’s in the best interest of women regarding their reproductive rights.
Ragland’s analysis, based on an initial study, reveals that post Dobbs, legal abortions in states with total abortion bans and no exceptions for rape have drastically reduced. Texas, for example, recorded 54 rape-induced pregnancies daily during a 16-month period of its abortion ban, underscoring the chasm between the need for abortion care and its actual provision.
Ragland concluded, “If 134 (rape-induced pregnancies) are happening daily, women’s access to necessary abortion services is indeed inadequate.”
Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia were the 14 states with abortion bans included in the study. The bans in Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, and North Dakota include exceptions for rape.
Samuel Dickman, co-author of the original study, termed abortion bans with so-called rape exceptions as “completely meaningless”, given the lack of evidence that rape survivors are obtaining abortion care.
He added, “If a state genuinely wants to provide meaningful access to abortion for rape survivors, it can’t ban abortion for everybody else given that many survivors do not report their assault to law enforcement.”
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