During the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed that “we have seen maternal mortality skyrocket in Texas, outpacing many other countries in the world” after Texas’ pro-life laws took effect upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The Texas Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which calculates the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, reported Texas’ increase from 17.2 in 2019 to 27.7 in 2020 and 37.7 in 2021 — a spike the Texas Maternal and Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) of the Texas Department of State Health Services attributed partially to COVID-19.
