Texas bills spark discussion about maternal deaths and abortion pills

Other posts highlighted abortion laws in Montana and Wyoming and discouraged screenings for breast and cervical cancer.

This past week, bills that could impact abortion access in Texas generated conversation about maternal deaths and abortion pills. Other posts expressed confusion about abortion laws in western states and debated the necessity of reproductive cancer screenings.

In light of these discussions, communicators may recirculate information about local abortion laws, explain how abortion bans impact maternal health, and share screening recommendations for breast and cervical cancer.

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What’s trending nationally in conversations about reproductive health:

On March 14, a Texas senator introduced a bill clarifying medical exceptions under the state’s abortion ban. Texas law currently allows abortions when the pregnant person is facing a “life-threatening condition,” which has been linked to delays in lifesaving care. The bill would still require patients to be experiencing a medical emergency in order to have an abortion. However, the bill removes language requiring those medical emergencies to be life-threatening. The bill would also require training for doctors and hospital lawyers to avoid confusion about the law. On the same day, Texas lawmakers proposed another bill that would allow the “biological father of the unborn child” to file civil lawsuits against abortion pill providers. The bill would also target websites that share information about abortion pills and financial transaction companies that help people pay for abortion pills. Social media users discussed these bills across platforms. Some suggested that the bill clarifying abortion medical exceptions could reduce maternal deaths. Others expressed fear about additional legal penalties against abortion pill providers.

On March 11, a Montana District Court permanently blocked restrictions that would have created obstacles for Montana Medicaid patients seeking abortions. The court ruled that the proposed bills and an amendment to the Montana Administrative Rules were unconstitutional and would violate residents’ right to abortion. Montana currently allows abortion until fetal viability. On March 14, Wyoming’s governor vetoed a bill that aimed to ban abortion if the Wyoming Supreme Court rules against the state’s 2023 law banning it. The governor stated that he vetoed the bill out of concern that it “will only perpetuate redundant legal challenges, add to the delay Wyoming has already witnessed in litigating the state’s ability to regulate abortion, and introduce further complexity into an already robust docket on abortion.” For now, abortion remains legal in Wyoming while the 2023 ban is challenged in court. However, there are no abortion clinics currently operating in the state, so Wyoming residents seeking abortion need to seek virtual care or travel out-of-state for an in-clinic abortion. Social media users discussed how these decisions will impact residents in each state, with some expressing confusion about their states’ abortion laws.

An X user recently shared a video of two people discouraging preventative reproductive cancer screenings, including mammograms and Pap smears, falsely suggesting that these screenings do more harm than good. The post received approximately 655,100 views, 7,400 likes, 2,400 reposts, and 200 comments as of March 18. While many commenters agreed with the post, some stated that preventative screenings save lives and shared personal stories about how recommended screenings helped them access early cancer treatment.

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Recommendations for public health professionals

Each week, the Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. These helpful tips can be used when creating content, updating web and FAQ pages, and developing strategy for messaging about reproductive health. 

In response to conversations about abortion legislation, communicators may ensure that all materials highlighting your state’s abortion laws are up to date. Communicators may also want to share the Repro Legal Hotline, which provides free, confidential legal services for people seeking abortions and other forms of reproductive health care, and Plan C, which offers information about accessing abortion pills in every state. Explaining that abortion bans have been shown to delay lifesaving care—even in states that have exceptions in cases when the pregnant person’s health or life is at risk—is also recommended.

Given pushback against recommended reproductive cancer screenings, communicators may recirculate recommendations for mammograms and Pap smears. The CDC recommends that people 40 to 74 and at average risk for breast cancer get a mammogram every two years. Getting regular mammograms is the most effective way to reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer because it helps detect cancer early. The risk associated with the small amount of radiation used in mammograms is low. Communicators may also note that everyone is already exposed to a small amount of naturally occuring radiation daily.

The CDC also recommends screening for cervical cancer beginning at age 21 with a Pap smear, sometimes called a Pap test, in which a health care provider takes samples of cervical cells using a soft brush. Those cells are tested to determine if they are precancerous or cancerous. If the Pap smear is normal, people between 21 and 29 can wait three years until their next test. People who are 30 to 65 years old should talk to their health care provider about whether they need a Pap smear, an HPV test (to determine if they have a virus that increases the risk of cervical cancer), or both. If both a Pap smear and HPV test are normal, patients can wait five years until their next screening. People who are 65 and older should talk to their health care provider about which tests they may need. Pap smears are a safe way to diagnose cervical cancer early.

Mammograms and Pap smears are covered by most insurance plans. Talk to your health care provider about scheduling your screenings. If you are uninsured, find a screening program that offers free or low-cost mammograms and Pap smears through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.