Reproductive Injustice: Abortion Restrictions and Maternal Mortality Rates

This research establishes a statistically significant connection between maternal mortality rates and abortion restrictions from a reproductive injustice perspective, integrating the theory of necropolitics. Using a time-series cross-sectional analysis of all 50 U.S. states from 2009 to 2019, this study highlights the impact of restrictive abortion policies during a period of intensified legislative activity, including pre-abortion counseling requirements, TRAP laws, and trigger laws. Data from the Guttmacher Institute's hostility scale and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's maternal mortality statistics reveal that states with higher hostility toward abortion experienced increased maternal mortality. Notably, a 1% increase in state hostility is associated with a 0.45% rise in overall maternal mortality rates (p < 0.001). The analysis further demonstrates that each marginalized racial and ethnic group examined face heightened risks from higher abortion hostility, with maternal mortality rising among Hispanic women by 0.40% (p < 0.001); among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native women increasing by 0.29% (p < 0.05); among non-Hispanic Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacfic Islander women by 0.53% (p < 0.001); and non-Hispanic Black women by 0.39% (p < 0.001) per 1% increase in state hostility. However, the largest increase was found among non-Hispanic White women (p < 0.001). This study contributes to reproductive justice scholarship by incorporating a feminist and sociological perspective on the relationship between abortion restrictions and maternal mortality, particularly as moderated by race and ethnicity. The findings call for urgent policy interventions to dismantle systemic inequities in healthcare access, ensuring the protection of reproductive rights and the reduction of maternal mortality across all communities.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Department dc:contributor.department

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Ayala, Calinda Carolina

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Wimberley, Dale W.
• Vogt Yuan, Anastasia Sue

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Goldensher, Liora ODonnell

• abortion
• bio-power
• hostility
• feminist perspective
• maternal mortality
• necropolitics
• reproductive injustice
• Roe v Wade

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:42277

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/124582