Study estimates 64K rape-related pregnancies in states with abortion bans
since July 2022; 26K in Texas
By Katharine Finnerty Texas
PUBLISHED 7:50 AM CT Jan. 25, 2024
AUSTIN, Texas � A new study is estimating that nearly 65,000 survivors of
rape in states with abortion bans have become pregnant since the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
What You Need To Know

In total, the study estimates that 519,981 rapes occurred in those 14
states with abortion bans and 64,565 of them resulted in pregnancy

Texas, a state that has no exceptions for rape or incest, was at the
top of the list with an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies, over
four times more than the next closest state, Missouri, at 5,825

The researchers confessed there were limitations with studying
formulating their estimates saying that the national data on rapes they
used, while the most accurate available, cannot get the full picture

The states the study looked at were Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia

The study, which was published in the peer-viewed Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA), looked at 14 states that have outlawed abortion
and took data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statstics (BJS) to estimate the amount of
rapes and rape-related pregnancies that occurred in those states from July
1, 2022, to Jan. 1, 2024.

The states the study looked at were Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

In total, the study estimates that 519,981 rapes occurred in those 14
states and 64,565 of them resulted in pregnancy. Researchers further
estimated that 9% of those pregnancies occurred in states with legal
exceptions for rape, while 91% of them occurred in states with no
exceptions.

Texas, a state which has no exceptions for rape or incest, was at the top
of the list with an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies, over four
times more than the next closest state, Missouri, at 5,825.

Democrats in Texas have responded to these findings, with Texas state Sen.
Roland Gutierrez saying politicians should not be involved in the decisions
women make for their health.

�No woman anywhere should be forced to birth her rapists� baby. No child
anywhere should be forced to birth her rapists� baby,� Gutierrez said on X,
formerly Twitter. �Politicians and unelected judges should stay the hell
out of women�s healthcare decisions.�

The researchers confessed there were limitations with formulating their
estimates saying that the national data on rapes they used, while the most
accurate available, can not get the full picture.

�Such highly stigmatized experiences are difficult to measure accurately in
surveys,� the study said.

Nonetheless, the study concluded that the large number of estimated rape-
related pregnancies in states with total abortion bans indicates that
�persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal
abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions.�

In states with exceptions for rape, on average, 10 or fewer legal abortions
occurred every month. Survivors must report their rape to law enforcement
in order to get an abortion in these states, but the BJS estimates only 21%
do so.

�Thousands of girls and women in states that banned abortion experienced
rape-related pregnancy, but few (if any) obtained in-state abortions
legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access
to abortion for survivors,� the study said. �Survivors of rape who become
pregnant in states with abortion bans may seek a self-managed abortion or
try to travel (often hundreds of miles) to a state where abortion is legal,
leaving many without a practical alternative to carrying the pregnancy to
term.�

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2024/01/25/64k-
rape-related-pregnancies-in-states-with-abortion-bans-since-2022