A major study has found that areas with less liberal abortion laws are those with better rates of maternal health.

Conducted over a 10-year period from 2002, the study by a team of international researchers examined maternal health in 32 states across Mexico, utilising a standard indicator known as the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). Mexico was chosen as it holds virtually complete and accurate records on maternal healthcare.

Broken down, studies were conducted in 18 states with more legal restrictions on abortion, and 14 states with more liberal laws. The aim of the research was to discover if more restrictive abortion laws lead to a greater incidence of maternal mortality, as frequently claimed by pro-abortion advocates who cite illicit terminations in arguments for legalised abortion towards reducing maternal deaths.

The study found, however, that, in those states with more restrictive practices, maternal mortality from abortion complications was 47% lower than elsewhere, while overall, maternal mortality was 23% lower than in states with more liberal practices.

In order to explore more fully disparities in maternal health, researchers took account of no fewer than 10 variables over the course of the study, helping to explain 90% of the differences revealed through the reserach. These included access to prenatal care, skilled attendance at a birth, and emergency obstetric care. The authors of the study point out that when set alongside similar studies conducted in both Ireland and Chile, the findings indicate that better maternal health trends are possible in those states where abortion is prohibited or limited and other healthcare factors are present.

The results of the Mexico study have been published in the British Medical Journal Open.