Pregnancy as a Crime: An Interim Update on the First Three Years After Dobbs

This document was published by Pregnancy Justice.

From June 2022 to June 2025 — the first three years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade — prosecutors initiated at least 902 cases across the country charging individuals with crimes related to their pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or birth. In at least 468 cases, the family policing system was involved. No data exists for the other cases, so the real number is likely far higher.

These data are part of the Pregnancy Prosecutions Tracking Study, an ongoing research study examining pregnancy criminalization in the three years after Dobbs, co-led by Pregnancy Justice, co-Principal Investigators Professors Wendy A. Bach and Madalyn K. Wasilczuk, and Dr. Kendra Hutchens.