Access to abortion care vital to closing racial health gaps

Well-known racial disparities in health care have only worsened with the increase in abortion restrictions and bans before and since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

The new restrictive abortion landscape is especially harmful to the health of Black women. The restrictions make it harder for people to make decisions about their pregnancy, which increases the likelihood of poor maternal health outcomes. One study estimates a total abortion ban in the United States would result in an additional 140 maternal deaths annually, with Black people experiencing the greatest increase in deaths. 

Maternal mortality risks are already two to three times higher for Black women, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. A Minnesota Department of Health report shows that while Black Minnesotans represent 13% of mothers, they make up 23% of pregnancy-associated deaths.  

Thankfully, Minnesota’s constitution and new laws protect abortion rights for Minnesotans and those with the resources to travel to our state. This was critical when Roe fell — we’ve seen a 47% increase in abortions since before the decision. 

Abortion rights are meaningless, however, if accessing them is contingent on one’s race, wealth, geography, gender or ability. 

That’s why we need to build the infrastructure to ensure sustainability for abortion clinics to provide more care to more patients. While patient-centered care is happening in Minnesota, that care’s availability is at risk because of funding gaps.

Thirty million dollars is needed to sustain independent clinics in Minnesota for the next 5 years. Proposed legislation would create the Reproductive Health Equity Fund and allocate the money directly to Minnesota abortion providers to support a sustainable state ecosystem. This funding allocation follows the example set by other progressive states and would not only address the needs of Minnesotans, but also the influx of patients the state has seen as a result of the national attacks on abortion access. 

When someone has decided to have an abortion, they should have the best method of care for their circumstances, and providers should have the resources to offer all clinician-guided options. But right now, economic inequities and gaps in our system leave both patients and providers with fewer care options. 

As Minnesota positions itself as an abortion access haven in the Midwest, providers in Minnesota play a key role for the broader abortion access and maternal health landscape, and their work must be supported. 

Moreover, the current abortion care infrastructure makes the racial maternal health disparities wider. If our independent abortion clinics close, so does an avenue for improved Black maternal health rates.  

Each of us should have the power to make sexual and reproductive health decisions with self-determination and dignity. We can’t make that happen without funding these crucial independent clinics.