This State Calls Itself the ‘Most Pro-Life.’ But Moms There Keep Dying.

August 27, 2024

saline bag hanging from rack

(Washington Post via MSN) – In a state that touts itself as “the most pro-life state in the country,” where abortion is prohibited except to save the life of the mother, timber country in southeast Arkansas is an especially dangerous place to give birth.

Arkansas already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates, and mothers in this area die at a rate exceeding the state average. Ninety-two percent of recent maternal deaths were preventable, a state review committee found.

In November, two hospitals in the region abruptly closed their birthing units, sending patients like Sa’Ryiah scrambling to find a new obstetrician. (Read More)