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Prosecutors Filed Over 900 Cases of “Pregnancy-Related Crimes” Since Dobbs

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22.10.2026

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A new report has found that, in the years following the Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade, hundreds of people have been charged with crimes related to their pregnancies.

Reproductive rights nonprofit Pregnancy Justice documented at least 902 cases of such charges in the three years after the court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision. The data suggests that more cases likely exist, since the research only covers the period from the summer of 2022 through 2025, and doesn’t include instances where people were charged over the past year.

Most of the charges being brought against pregnant people relate to their actions while pregnant, pregnancy loss, or births, Pregnancy Justice noted in its report. The cases are primarily based on long-existing criminal statutes, not new abortion ban laws, with 876 of the 955 charges documented relating to allegations of child neglect, endangerment, or abuse.

While the report notes that 23 states charged people with pregnancy-related crimes during that three-year period, a majority of the cases were in just three states — South Carolina (381 cases), Oklahoma (222), and Alabama (204).

These charges included claims from prosecutors that individuals were abusing drugs or other substances during their pregnancies; failed to provide an adequate amount of prenatal care for their fetus or infant; and attempted to obtain, obtained, or even merely researched abortion services.

Texas Woman Sues Anti-Abortion Group Under Law It Helped to Pass

What’s more, prosecutors overwhelmingly charged pregnant people under statutes that........

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