Nearly 65K rape-related pregnancies occurred in abortion ban states, study estimates

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A new study estimates nearly 65,000 rape-related pregnancies have occurred since the reversal of Roe vs. Wade in states with total abortion bans.

The study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine estimates there have been 519,981 reported rapes that led to 64,565 pregnancies in the 14 states, which have enacted abortion bans since the Dobbs decision in 2022.

Researchers from Planned Parenthood and Resound Research for Reproductive Health said most of the 14 states do not have exceptions that allow abortion for cases of rape and, if they do, require the rape to be reported to authorities.

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

According to researchers, "few, if any," of the women and girls who became pregnant as the result of rape "obtained in-state abortions legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors."

"Survivors of rape who become pregnant in states with abortion bans may seek a self-managed abortion or try to travel to a state where abortion is legal, leaving many without a practical alternative to carrying the pregnancy to term," the study says.

Researchers estimate that 45% -- or 26,313 -- of the rape-related pregnancies occurred in Texas, which topped the list. Texas had four times the number of rape-related pregnancies than the second state on the list, Missouri, which had an estimated 5,825.

Dr. Samuel Dickman, the medical director for Planned Parenthood Montana, helped lead the research and said while researchers used data on sexual assaults reported to law enforcement, it was also important to factor in those that were not reported.

"We used CDC data, the most accurate available national data on rapes, but such highly stigmatized experiences are difficult to measure accurately in surveys," researchers wrote in the study, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Nonetheless, the large number of estimated rape-related pregnancies in abortion ban states compared with the 10 or fewer legal abortions per month occurring in each of those states indicates that persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions," they said.

"Sexual assault is incredibly common -- I knew that in a general sense," Dickman said.

"But to be confronted with these estimates that are so high in states where there's no meaningful abortion access? It's hard to comprehend."