Texas announced it will not investigate pregnancy-related deaths for 2022 and 2023, skipping the years immediately following the state’s near-total abortion ban.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, is questioning why the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (MMMRC) chose not to conduct in-depth investigations into these deaths. Crockett, along with several fellow House Democrats, sent a letter Thursday to Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, requesting a briefing by January 2 to explain the decision.
The concern stems from reports by ProPublica, which identified several Texas women who died after not being able to access timely reproductive care. Crockett accused Texas Republicans of trying to suppress these stories. “We are demanding the Texas Department of State Health Services explain its reasoning behind its decision to stop reviewing maternal mortality deaths in the years following their abortion ban,” she said. “The people of Texas deserve the truth.”
According to The Dallas Morning News, the decision was made by the 23-member MMMRC, which will focus on 2024 cases instead. This has raised alarms, especially considering the timing of Texas’ abortion restrictions, which began in 2021 with a six-week abortion ban and a near-total ban a year later. The committee has defended the decision, saying it was not politically motivated but an effort to catch up on a backlog of cases. Dr. Carla Ortique, the committee chair, pointed out that the committee had skipped years in the past for similar reasons.
However, the decision has drawn criticism from advocates and medical providers. They argue that ignoring pregnancy-related deaths from 2022 and 2023 means the state may fail to fully understand the impact of its abortion restrictions on maternal health. “We are concerned that the MMMRC is choosing to forego data review for the period after Texas imposed these restrictions on abortion due to a chilling effect on reproductive care in Texas,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
The lawmakers also highlighted that Texas, as the first state to implement strict abortion laws, should provide vital insights into the effects of these policies on pregnancy-related deaths. Ignoring these deaths during a period of heightened risk contradicts the committee’s mandate to reduce maternal mortality, they said.
