Aidan Jones
Abortion
29 May 2026
Abortion Rights Matter
Nevaeh Crain should have lived to see her 21st birthday. Tragically, on October 29, 2023, she passed away at just 18 years old. Reports indicate that Nevaeh visited three hospitals in Texas, but each hesitated to provide her with an abortion out of fear of legal repercussions. According to Brittany Fonteno, “precious hours were lost debating how to treat Nevaeh.” This heartbreaking case is just one of many that illustrate how strict abortion bans can cost a mother’s life.
Strict abortion bans have prevented doctors from treating women with pregnancy complications, leaving them powerless in critical situations. While the overall mortality rate in the United States has been declining, it remains higher than in many other countries. Studies show that mothers living in states with strict abortion bans face a higher risk of death. Texas was among the first states to ban abortion before Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. In the first year of its total abortion ban, Texas saw a 56% increase in pregnancy-related deaths. In contrast, California—a state supportive of abortion rights—had a mortality rate 155% lower than Texas. Additionally, pregnancy-related deaths in supportive states fell by approximately 21% post Dobbs.
Strict abortion laws can put pregnant patients at risk of death in life-threatening situations. Because of strict abortion bans in Texas, a young woman died, and doctors couldn’t do anything to help. At the second hospital that Neveah Grain went to, it was reported that she tested positive for sepsis, but doctors dismissed her, saying she was “fine to leave,” because her six-month fetus had a heartbeat. Should this be allowed? Are Abortion bans important enough for a mother to lose her life? When the mother dies their unborn child dies too. A law that’s supposedly meant to prevent death statistically shows it contributes to preventable deaths.
Opponents of abortion say getting an abortion leads to a human life getting killed. The baby is innocent and does not deserve to die because of the mother’s choices. Many also point out that many scientists argue that biological human life begins at conception. The fetus has a heartbeat between five and six weeks of pregnancy, and women don’t find out that they are pregnant normally until 4 to 6 weeks.
However, at what cost should these laws be enforced? Should the mother be forced to die a preventable death, while doctors who took an oath to make the patients' well-being their highest priority, can do nothing to help? While abortion bans are supposedly meant to benefit the child, with increasing mortality in abortion banned states, the child does not benefit at all. Does the mother not have a right to live? Scientists state that the fetus cannot live outside the womb and survive until after a gestational age of 22 to 24 weeks. Meaning even if the heartbeat is developed, it still relies on the mother's body for survival.
CONCLUSION
Strict Abortion bans can put both a mother's and child’s life at risk. States with severe abortion restrictions have reported increases in preventable pregnancy-related deaths and delays in taking action in pregnancy-related emergencies. While abortion is a heavily debated issue in America that still remains a conflict today, the law should not prevent doctors from honoring the oath that they took which was to make their patients' well-being their highest priority. No person deserves to be at risk of death because doctors cannot provide necessary treatment.
Facts and Evidence
There are 13 states with near-abortion bans across the United States, including Texas, Tennessee, North and South Dakota, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There are 28 other states that have Abortion laws based on a gestational period. A gestational period means that the pregnant patient has a certain amount of time before they are not legally allowed to get an abortion.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are over 700 pregnancy-related deaths around the world each day.
According to Gender Equality Policy Institute (GEPI) Black mothers that live in an abortion banned state are 3.3 times as likely to die as white mothers.
Gender Equality Policy Institute (GEPI) also states that Latina Mothers in Texas faced nearly triple the risk of maternal mortality compared to those in California.

Works Cited
“Another Texas Woman Died Because of Abortion Ban: Nevaeh Crain.” National Abortion Federation, National abortion Federation. Accessed May 25th 2026
https://nationalabortionfederation.org/another-texas-woman-died-because-of-abortion-ban-nevaeh-crain/
“Texas Teen Died After Doctors Delayed Care During Miscarriage.” KVUE ABC, KVUE, KVUE Article on Nevaeh Crain. Accessed May 25th 2026.
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/neveah-crain-texas-abortion-death/269-feb67008-f79f-499f-a30b-6dbb71dc5ba4
“State Policies on Abortion Bans.” Guttmacher Institute, Guttmacher. Accessed May 25th 2026
https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans
“Bodily Autonomy and the Fourteenth Amendment.”Center for Reproductive Rights, Center for Reproductive Rights. Accessed May 25th 2026
https://reproductiverights.org/resources/bodily-autonomy-fourteenth-amendment-fact-sheet/
“Maternal Mortality and Abortion Bans.” Gender Equality Policy Institute, Gender Equality Policy Institute. Accessed May 25th, 2026
https://thegepi.org/maternal-mortality-abortion-bans/
“Maternal Mortality.” World Health Organization. Accessed May 25th, 2026
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
“Why Childbirth Is Still Dangerous in America.” University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Rochester Medicine. Accessed May 25th, 2026 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/publications/health-matters/why-childbirth-is-still-dangerous-in-america-and-what-we-can-do-about-it.
“The 39 Major Pro-Choice Arguments and Their Refutations.” Christian Life Resources, Christian Life Resources. Accessed May 25th 2026
https://christianliferesources.com/beginning-of-life/abortion/the-39-major-prochoice-arguments-and-their-refutations
”When can my baby survive outside the womb?” Baby center, Baby center. Accessed May 29th 2026
https://www.babycenter.com/baby/premature-babies/when-can-my-baby-survive-outside-the-womb_10419991