Reader says GOP vote is a death certificate for women

Editor:

Well, it’s that time of year again…the time when St. Mary’s Catholic Church erects their “abortion graveyard”  and the various false abortion claims that accompany the crosses.
Here’s what the Catholic Church doesn’t tell you about women’s reproductive autonomy and abortion. Per the Journal of American Medical Association, in 2020, 3.8% of over 65 million women of childbearing age had abortions. In contrast, the infant mortality rate was 5.42 deaths per 1,000 live births, and maternal deaths were 22.3 per 100,000 live births. Only six women died from abortion complications that year. It is far more dangerous for women to give birth in the U.S., which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and ranks 33 out of 38 industrialized countries for  infant mortality.
How does this affect Southeast Iowa? Data suggests that Iowa's 6-week abortion ban will mirror trends seen  in other states. According to the CDC, Guttmacher Institute, and Pew Research, after Texas's 2021 abortion ban, infant mortality rose by 13%, compared to a 2% increase in states without such bans. Deaths of infants aged 28 days or less in Texas increased to 145, largely due to congenital anomalies (a 22.9% rise in Texas versus a 3.1% decrease elsewhere).
Iowa has some of the worst ratios of OB/Gyns per pregnant woman in the country, with one-third of counties  classified as “maternity deserts.” Many OB/Gyn professionals are leaving the state due to restrictive laws
affecting their ability to provide care. All of this information would indicate that a vote for anyone on the GOP ticket is potentially signing the death certificate for women you know and love.

Michelle Scott,
Fort Madison