In a Wednesday editorial that appeared on StatNews, Dr. David Hackney, a professor of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University candidly admits that many post-Dobbs predictions made by supporters of legal abortion have not come to fruition.
Dr. Hackney is not a disinterested observer. He is a very vocal supporter of abortion rights. In 2022 he testified against the Ohio Heartbeat Act, and in 2023 he supported Ohio’s Issue 1 which placed legal abortion in Ohio’s state constitution. In 2019, Dr. Hackney also wrote an editorial for the Columbus Dispatch in favor of legal abortion.
In his StatNews editorial Hackney clearly states “many of the worst predictions have not come to pass.” He goes on to say that “a net increase in maternal morality has not been clearly identified.” He is correct. Multiple analyses of maternal mortality rate trends find no statistically significant difference between pro-life states and states with permissive abortion policies. Hackney also agrees that relatively few practicing OBGYNs have left states with strong pro-life laws, saying, “The nationwide exodus that was feared has not occurred.”
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Hackney does claim that pro-life laws have increased the incidence of infant mortality. However, several points are worth noting. First, overall infant mortality rates have declined since the first quarter of 2023. Second, some studies have found decreases in maternal mortality in states with pro-life laws. Finally, those studies that have found an increase in infant mortality report an increase in congenital deaths. In short, the pro-life laws are preventing children with congenital defects from being aborted.
All in all, the public health trends that have persisted after the Dobbs decision are unsurprising.
Many developed countries with legal protections for the preborn have also had positive public health outcomes. Poland consistently has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, maternal mortality rate in Europe. When Ireland protected the preborn, that country consistently had better maternal health outcomes that England, Wales, and Scotland. Chile also saw a decline in maternal mortality after pro-life laws took effect in 1989.
Hackney encourages supporters of legal abortion to make arguments rooted in autonomy and human freedom. This is puzzling advice. Typically, supporters of legal abortion like to present arguments involving public health outcomes. This is because they can easily get studies published in public health journals with a pro-abortion bias. The findings from these articles are often uncritically reported by the mainstream media. Furthermore, pro-lifers get little chance to respond. Overall, even though Hackney’s advice is unsavvy, it is heartening to see a supporter of legal abortion publicly acknowledge that pro-life laws have not worsened certain public health outcomes.
LifeNews.com Note: Dr. Michael New is a professor at Ave Maria University. He is a former political science professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is a fellow at Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.
