We Cannot Separate Abortion From Healthcare
By Christine Charbonneau
Americans have shown through numerous polls and ballot measures that there is widespread support for keeping pregnancy decisions free from government interference. According to an Axios/Ipsos poll, 80% of respondents—including two-thirds of Republicans—believe the government should not be involved in managing abortion-related issues. The right to make personal healthcare decisions is well-recognized in cases such as pursuing cancer treatments or taking prescribed medications. However, maternal health has been separated from broader healthcare discussions and has become a focal point of restrictive state policies. Singling out family planning as distinct from other healthcare services undermines the fundamental autonomy of all Americans to make choices about their own health.
With House Republicans considering a $2.3 trillion cut to Medicaid, many Americans will lose access to healthcare including thousands of low-income individuals who are at risk of losing access to critical prenatal and postpartum care. Medicaid covers more than 40% of births nationwide, with most of these pregnant individuals residing in Southern states. As the largest provider of reproductive healthcare coverage in the country, Medicaid plays a vital role in pregnancy-related services for American families. Given the already bleak maternal health outcomes in the U.S., cuts to Medicaid would have dire and far-reaching impacts. It is imperative to defend against attacks on reproductive autonomy, whether they take the form of legislative bans, restrictions on travel, or making care financially inaccessible.
Abortion bans create civil liabilities for providers and also delay care, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes for pregnant individuals and babies. Dr. Tony Ogburn, an OB-GYN in San Antonio, explained, “When the fetus has a heartbeat, doctors can’t simply follow the usual evidence-based guidelines. Instead, there is a legal obligation to assess whether a woman’s condition is dire enough to merit an abortion under a prosecutor’s interpretation of the law.” Essentially, laws like SB8 in Texas interfere with doctors’ ability to provide life-saving care—taking medical decision-making out of doctors’ hands and placing it in the courts. This shift in who can impact medical decisions has ramifications far beyond states with abortion bans. If judges can prosecute doctors for performing life-saving procedures, the courts could expand their reach to other medical decisions, putting everyone’s autonomy at risk.
The negative effects of abortion bans are not confined solely to states with restrictive laws. Analysis from the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights how abortion legislation impacts health systems in neighboring states. For instance, the percentage of abortions provided to out-of-state residents in Colorado rose from 13% in 2020 to 30% in 2023, following Texas’ 6-week abortion restriction. This influx of patients has reportedly caused delays for Colorado residents seeking care. Such delays can lead to increased costs, greater procedural complexity, emotional distress, and potential exposure of the pregnancy.
States with restrictive abortion laws starkly illustrate how these measures result in negative health outcomes, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that infant mortality rates were 5.6% higher in 14 states—including Texas—after they adopted six-week or near-total abortion bans. In Texas specifically, maternal health outcomes have significantly worsened since the introduction of these bans. ProPublica reports that severe abortion restrictions enacted in Texas during late 2021 and 2022 led to a dramatic increase in sepsis cases related to second-trimester pregnancy loss—from 67 in 2021 to 99 in 2023. These figures likely underrepresent the full extent of the issue, as they exclude patients who were not hospitalized. Research from hospitals in Dallas and Houston confirms these risks, showing that women unable to terminate pregnancies promptly faced significantly higher rates of life-threatening complications, with sepsis rates tripling after the bans. These alarming trends underscore the critical importance of recognizing abortion as essential healthcare and safeguarding individuals’ rights to make their own medical decisions.
Furthermore, laws restricting abortion access—such as travel bans and “trafficking” statutes—violate young women’s rights to seek necessary medical care in other states. One of the fundamental freedoms of American citizenship is the right to travel freely across state lines. Monitoring individuals’ movements or questioning the reasons for their travel infringes on this liberty. It was once unthinkable that a Texas judge might request health records from another state to scrutinize medical procedures. Yet today, state officials treat young women—especially minors—like criminals, presuming guilt instead of protecting their rights. States should uphold freedoms, not dictate where citizens go, what medical treatments they seek, or how they plan their families. As maternal health outcomes continue to deteriorate in states with abortion bans and the health systems in shield states become overwhelmed, it is increasingly clear that abortion access is life-saving and essential healthcare.