In the year 2000, the United States had a lower mortality rate for pregnant and immediately postpartum women then they do now. The statistics reflect that U.S. women are now twice as likely to die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth as they were 15 years ago. It is obvious that women’s health, reproductive rights and choices, are far from being a priority for the GOP.
When comparing current numbers to those of other countries, the information becomes overwhelming. Out of all the Western countries, the United States has the highest maternal death rate. The unlucky pregnant woman in the United States is ten times as likely to die from pregnancy as her counterpart in Poland or Norway. She is 20 times more likely to die due to pregnancy or childbirth as her sisters in Belarus.
However, it is important to note that that even the terrifyingly high numbers currently available for American women may not be accurate. The US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health recently released that more than a third and perhaps up to half of pregnancy-related deaths are wrongly attributed to other causes.
Until Republicans are forced to accept women as important beings, outside their ability to procreate, it is unreasonable to expect US women to enjoy the rights they are due. With no existing federal law forcing US hospitals to maintain accurate records on maternal death, it is impossible to know how many women are actually dying to have a baby.