New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the U.S. maternal mortality rate has fallen 19.7% since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortions.
The rate dropped from 22.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 17.9 in 2024.
There were 817 maternal deaths in 2022 compared with 649 in 2024. The rate stood at 18.6 in 2023.
The decline occurred as about 20 states enacted laws banning or restricting most abortions following the Dobbs ruling.
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Pro-life advocates said the figures contradict repeated warnings from abortion supporters that protective laws would trigger a maternal health crisis.
“Supporters of legal abortion are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. Data from the CDC and other sources show that many public health metrics have improved since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.”
“Maternal mortality has not only failed to rise, it has fallen, sharply and consistently. Maternal deaths did not rise once protective pro-life laws were enacted. The fact is, they fell.”
Researcher David Reardon, who has analyzed abortion mortality data, said: “The best available evidence, from the best record-based studies shows that abortion is an independent risk factor for a 50% higher rate of death than for women who carry to term.”
The CDC defines maternal mortality as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.
Rates are calculated per 100,000 live births using data from the National Vital Statistics System.
Maternal mortality spiked to 32.9 per 100,000 live births in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic before beginning a steady decline. Rates remain significantly higher for Black non-Hispanic women.
The CDC notes that rates can fluctuate year to year due to the small number of events and possible reporting issues on death certificates. Nearly 80% of maternal deaths are considered preventable.
The CDC report makes no mention of abortion or state bans and does not attribute causation to any policy change. The data return rates to levels seen before the pandemic spike.
