, data on complications stemming from being denied abortion care or unsafe self-managed abortions could be crucial to understanding the full impact of restrictive lawsAt the same time that the Texas Medical Board weighs updating the language of the state abortion ban’s medical exception, theon Friday that the Texas Maternal Mortality Task Force hasn’t been collecting abortion-related data for 10 years.
It’s currently reviewing pregnancy deaths from 2021, which is the first year the task force is analyzing its data since the Supreme Court overturned, in the midst of reviewing 2021 data, the task force realized that for the last decade of its existence, they have not been receiving data about abortion, which could include cases involving unsafe self-managed abortions or maternal deaths caused by being denied abortion.
This is despite Texas state law requiring providers to report all abortion-related complications including mortality to the state Health Department. During the committee’s public meeting on Friday, task force chair Dr. Carla Ortique said the committee was once “confident” that they reviewed all maternal deaths “regardless of pregnancy outcome,” including abortion, but the committee recently learned this hasn’t been the case.and have low complication rates, especially if people can access accurate and comprehensive information about how to safely take abortion pills.
Ortique said at the meeting that she hopes the general public will “understand the importance of engaging in efforts to ensure that the work of this committee is able to continue and will raise their voices.” But it’s not immediately clear what steps the task force will take to ensure it’s tracking abortion-related data. The state Department of Health and Human Services press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel on the task force’s plans moving forward.