Image – from left: visual strategy editor Andrea Wise, Zayas, Presser, Surana, Jaramillo, editor Ziva Branstetter and research reporter Mariam Elba. ProPublica continues to pursue stories in the “Life of the Mother” series. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
For exposing the fatal consequences of abortion bans, the award marks ProPublica’s 8th Pulitzer Prize. The award was for public service, for the series “Life of the Mother”, which the judges described as “urgent reporting about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague ‘life of the mother’ exceptions in states with strict abortion laws”. The prize went to the staff of a news organization that performs “meritorious public service”. This is the second consecutive year the organization was awarded this distinction.
The “Life of the Mother” series is a landmark investigation into the unexamined, irreversible consequences of state abortion bans. Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser and Cassandra Jaramillo mined hospital and death records in states whose strict abortion bans threatened physicians with prosecution. From the tragic death of Amber Thurman in Georgia to gutting accounts of women denied lifesaving miscarriage care in Texas, the investigations illuminated the profound human cost of these policies. They exposed the chilling impact on medical professionals forced to choose between their oath and the law, the anguish faced by families and the broader erosion of women’s health and autonomy.
Stacy Kranitz’s immersive photo essay, “The Year After a Denied Abortion,” documented the unravelling of a Tennessee family after a denied abortion for a life-threatening pregnancy, especially in a state with meager support for poor mothers. The piece, reported with Surana, helped audiences see, feel and understand how decisions made by those in power impact families.
These stories ignited outrage around the country, became talking points during the presidential election and inspired action. Lawmakers have filed more than a dozen bills to expand abortion access in at least seven states.
Last week, the Texas Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 31, called The Life of the Mother Act, which aims to prevent maternal deaths under the state’s strict abortion ban by making clear that a life-threatening medical emergency doesn’t need to be imminent for doctors to follow their medical standards and intervene to terminate pregnancies.
The bill represents a significant reversal for Republican leaders who had for years insisted no changes were needed. It was written by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, the author of the original ban who initially said that “exceptions for medical emergencies were “plenty clear”. The bill stops short of removing what doctors say are the ban’s biggest impediments to care, including its threat of major criminal penalties for medical professionals, and it doesn’t expand abortion access to cases of fetal anomalies, rape or incest. Sen. Carol Alvarado, the Democratic lawmaker who co-authored the bill, said that its limits were a “real hard pill to swallow” but that it could still make a difference. “I believe this bill will save lives,” she said.
The reporters crowd-sourced thousands of tips; obtained explosive internal company documents; reviewed thousands of pages of lawsuit filings to identify the doctors doling out denials; and included shattering and intimate stories of patients for whom care was prematurely cut off, leading to devastating consequences….
In September 2024, the Biden administration announced that it had finalized new regulations to strengthen protections for mental health care coverage and hold insurance companies accountable for unlawfully denying it. In December 2024, following several of ProPublica’s stories, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy, Tina Smith and Ben Ray Luján reintroduced the Parity Enforcement Act to better hold insurance companies accountable by providing the U.S. Department of Labor the authority to impose civil monetary penalties for violations of the mental health parity law. The following month, the Labor Department found widespread noncompliance and violations of federal law in how health plans and insurers cover mental health care, findings that mirrored ProPublica’s investigation. The department also began investigating the oversight and management of doctors hired by insurers who repeatedly denied mental health coverage for patients.
Some of the pieces were published in collaboration with National Public Radio…. (article continues).
SOURCE: ProPublica, 5 May 2025.