Citation

Harris E. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.2024.0177

PMID

38324277

Abstract

Of the 14 US states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, 5 allow exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape. But even these exceptions fail to grant the abortion access that they promise, resulting in rape-related pregnancies far outstripping the number of legal abortions, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

After the Dobbs decision, fewer than 10 abortions occurred every month in each of the 14 states, researchers estimated, using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. During the same time, there were nearly 65 000 rape-related pregnancies. About half were in Texas. Another 9%, or 5600, were in the 5 states with exceptions.

The findings suggest "rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors," researchers wrote, leaving many survivors "without a practical alternative to carrying the pregnancy to term."

Language: en