Fact check: Abortion-related deaths continued after Roe v. Wade, but occurred less often
Facts And Fact Checking,Abortion
The claim: Roe v. Wade marked the end of women dying from abortions
After a Supreme Court draft opinion leaked that signaled a potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, debates about the future of abortion access ignited nationwide.
Some online claim that the watershed ruling did more than just establish a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
"Roe wasn't the beginning of women having abortions," reads text in an image left-wing page Occupy Democrats shared to Facebook May 9. "Roe was the end of women dying from abortion."
The post generated over 30,000 interactions and 20,000 shares in less than a week. Similar posts amassed thousands more interactions onFacebook and Instagram.
But the claim is false.
Experts told USA TODAY abortion-related deaths still occurred after Roe v. Wade was decided, though such outcomes are rare. This declining trend in abortion mortality began before the 1970s, but the Roe decision was a key contributor to that trend.
USA TODAY reached out to Occupy Democrats and other social media users who shared the claim for comment.
