The Terrifying Future of States Criminalizing Pregnant People Is Already Here
The Nation, October 21, 2026
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the idea of charging people who have abortions with murder has gained terrifying new traction. During her brief stint as White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia became just the latest prominent conservative to draw attention for her ties to a radical wing of the anti-abortion movement that wants to charge people who have abortions with murder. This year alone, state lawmakers floated 14 bills to charge people who have abortions with homicide. (The idea is still so unpopular across the political spectrum that none of those bills passed.) Yet this whole debate is, in a sense, a red herring, because hundreds of people a year are already being prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes. The vast majority of those cases involved a live birth where the mother was suspected of using drugs, but in a rising minority of cases since Dobbs, people are also being criminalized for pregnancy loss. I spoke with Dana Sussman, senior vice president at Pregnancy Justice, about a report the organization published today finding that in the first three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, prosecutors have initiated at least 902 cases across the country charging individuals with crimes related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or birth.”
When Idaho Banned Abortion, OB-GYNs Fled. The Doctors Who Stayed Are Cracking.
The New York Times Magazine, October 20, 2026
“In the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering a near-total ban on abortion in Idaho, with the potential for criminal prosecution of any doctor who performed the procedure, OB-GYNs have been fleeing the state in extraordinary numbers. More than a third of Idaho’s OB-GYNs have stopped practicing obstetrics, left the state, closed their practices or retired since the ban took effect in August 2022, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last year. By December 2025, there were just 170 obstetricians for the state’s roughly one million women – fewer than two doctors per 10,000. About five full-time maternal-fetal-medicine specialists, who serve the riskiest pregnancies, remained, according to a separate report released in 2024. One half of Idaho’s 44 counties no longer have a practicing obstetrician. The impact of the exodus has rippled across the state. Since 2023, three hospitals in rural parts of Idaho have shuttered their labor and delivery wards because of staffing shortages. In the southeastern corner of the state, one OB-GYN serves a population of more than 120,000 people, according to a recent paper by a researcher at Oregon State University.”
States With Abortion Bans See Spike in Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths
Axios, October 22, 2026
“Maternal health is likely to be an issue once again in the next Texas legislative session, amid a growing body of research that suggests the state’s women need more support for their reproductive health and well-being … Ectopic pregnancy deaths almost doubled in the U.S. between 2020 and 2025, per a new ProPublica investigation. The spike was much greater in states that banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ProPublica found … President Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a new women’s health division. The division will be tasked with researching conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women and improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment for them, per the Trump administration … The administration previously cut hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding for healthcare research, including for maternal health, per ProPublica.”
Mass. Telehealth Abortion Providers Face Federal Challenge From Three States
WBUR, October 19, 2026
“Three Massachusetts organizations and four staffers who prescribe and mail abortion pills to patients in states where the practice is restricted are facing their first legal challenge since the Supreme Court struck down the national right to an abortion in 2022. They are among 30 telehealth providers named in a federal lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama. The Massachusetts shield law, which was passed to protect abortion providers against legal action from other states, is not expected to apply in this federal case. The complaint, filed in Louisiana in late September, alleges the “advertising, selling, prescribing and mailing of abortion drugs” creates a public nuisance that interferes with health and safety in the three states, where abortion is banned with only limited exceptions… ‘The shield law in Massachusetts can’t protect the providers from a lawsuit in federal court,’ said Nicole Huberfeld, co-director of Boston University’s Program on Reproductive Justice. ‘It only applies to state courts. Likewise, the shield law can’t protect providers beyond the boundaries of the state.’ Massachusetts public officials, using the shield law, may refuse to assist with records requests in the Louisiana federal court case, if it proceeds.”
Birth Centers Remain Out of Reach in 10 States
AJMC, October 20, 2026
“Birth center care is unavailable in 10 US states, and payers don’t cover nearly 4 in 10 birth center deliveries, according to a recent Commonwealth Fund analysis of the CDC’s WONDER birth files and state-level birth center data. These maternity health care facilities are uniquely positioned to help women with low-risk pregnancies throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period, thus broadening maternal health care access for underserved populations. Yet women still face access and insurance barriers when seeking care at these centers, including state regulatory requirements, provider shortages, and insufficient Medicaid and private insurance reimbursement. The share of US births occurring at birth centers has grown substantially over the past 2 decades, from 0.23% in 2004 to 0.62% in 2024, although they still account for less than 1% of all births. And prior research from other countries showed that when birth centers are properly integrated into a maternal health system, they can lower health care costs while maintaining positive maternal and newborn outcomes.”
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Note: The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
