What it means to choose pregnancy in post-Roe America

The 19th has launched a new series, a four-story package investigating the experience of being pregnant in modern-day America. The project focuses on what it means to choose pregnancy in a nation not only where federal abortion rights have been eliminated, but where medical care and health outcomes have been suboptimal. 

The United States has long lagged when it comes to pregnancy-related health. There is a unique danger to pregnancy for Black Americans, who face higher mortality and morbidity rates because of entrenched, systemic racism. Our medical system and broader culture have struggled to compassionately and competently discuss pregnancy loss, let alone address it. Transgender pregnant people have faced marginalization and discrimination, often struggling to access competent medical care. And Americans who become pregnant in their mid-30s and later — an ever-growing cohort — face distinct difficulties in finding affordable and appropriate medical care.

Many of these challenges have been exacerbated by the fall of Roe v. Wade, which eliminated federal abortion rights, a critical component of comprehensive pregnancy-related health care. 

The undoing of Roe has put heightened scrutiny on the experience of unintended pregnancy. But those who choose pregnancy have not received the same attention. This series is intended to emphasize their perspectives, illustrating what it means to opt into an experience that can be by turns joyful, terrifying, heart-wrenching, and infuriating — and especially so in a post-Roe landscape.

In these stories, written by health reporter Shefali Luthra, 19th LGBTQ+ reporter Orion Rummler, and by Lauren Sausser, our partner and colleague at KFF Health News, readers meet Americans who have chosen pregnancy in spite of the risks.

Pregnancy after loss

In post-Roe America, the medical and legal stakes associated with losing a pregnancy are high, especially in the 14 states where abortion is now almost entirely outlawed.

Pregnancy for older people

A growing share of people are getting pregnant in their late 20s, 30s and even 40s. But it’s unclear whether the United States is prepared — medically or socially — to care for older first-time parents.

Pregnancy for transmasculine people

Pregnant transmasculine people are vulnerable within a medical system that doesn’t understand them — so they’re turning to other trans people for help and solace.

Pregnancy for Black Southerners

Being Black has always been dangerous for pregnant people and infants in the South. And researchers say things are continuing to move in the wrong direction.

We understand that the story of pregnancy in America is multifaceted, and far more complex than our one series can capture. As we enter 2024, the second year of post-Roe America, this is a topic that we at The 19th will continue to emphasize in our reporting. If you have feedback, ideas or please suggestions, we’d like to hear from you.

Source: 19thnews.org