00:13:17.700This nationwide abortion ban, 15-week nationwide abortion ban, Dr. Kumar, a 2021 study predicted a 21% increase in
00:13:28.780pregnancy-related deaths if an abortion ban were imposed, with black women facing a predicted increase of 33%.
00:13:37.620Can you explain to us why there would be an increase in pregnancy-related deaths, as well as more black
00:13:45.980women, a 33% increase in black women dying as well?
00:13:52.000Sure. Thank you for that question. What I would point to first is a recent CDC report that looked at
00:13:57.180maternal mortality in our country and actually found that four out of five of those deaths are
00:14:01.840preventable. Some of the top conditions that they talked about were mental health conditions, such as
00:14:06.320suicidality or depression, excessive bleeding referred to as hemorrhage, cardiac conditions, which are
00:14:11.400highest among black women, and also hypertension-related conditions. All of these things are
00:14:15.540preventable. When we look at today's landscape of abortion access and we talk about a 15-week ban, we can look at
00:14:20.820Florida, for example, what's happening today with a natural disaster hurricane. As that state has a 15-week ban and we think about what's
00:14:27.420happening to families, what's happening to their homes, folks that may be 13 weeks pregnant or even 10 weeks pregnant, as they deal with the
00:14:33.560things that they're having to deal with in their lives, they're being pushed further and further into pregnancy. When we look at the
00:14:37.800landscape around accessing abortion and the limited number of clinics that are still available in Haven states and how long people are
00:14:44.060waiting sometimes several weeks, that's also pushing them further into pregnancy. So these impacts are always felt
00:14:48.740disproportionately by people of color, especially low-income folks and also black folks. And that's what we'll continue to see, but it will only