#FAKENEWS: Everyone thought conservative policies were killing Texan women. Turns out the numbers were wrong.
Apparently, there were several issues with reporting and various actors using bad information to make their claims. In their words, “approximately half of obstetric-coded deaths showed no evidence of pregnancy within 42 days, and a large majority of these incorrectly indicated pregnancy at the time of death.”
“Maternal death, a major marker of the health of a nation or state, is defined as ‘the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy…from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy…” according to the study. Researchers examined the statistics from 2012, the year Texas had the highest recorded maternal mortality in recent history, and reviewed records to determine whether the state’s mortality count was accurate –– it wasn’t.
But this can’t wipe the false headlines away.
It won’t even stop people from making the claim. Because, you know, narrative over truth.