Criminal Case Tracking and Reproductive Justice Defense

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court allowed states to attach criminal penalties to abortion. But the criminalization of pregnancy is not new. Pregnant people in the United States (and internationally) have been investigated and prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes and alleged behavior during pregnancy prior to the June 2022 decision in Dobbs. In response to these legal shifts, the Sissy Farenthold Reproductive Justice Defense Project tracks criminal cases in Texas related to pregnancy and abortion, including past convictions, investigations, and pending cases, to better understand and deter pregnancy criminalization in Texas.

Texas Criminal Case Tracking and Advocacy

Research indicates that at least 210 people faced criminal charges in the first year after Dobbs. It is important to note that pregnant Texans cannot be prosecuted under these Texas criminal statutes. If you are aware of any pregnancy-related prosecutions or investigations, please contact the project. Furthermore, if you are an attorney handling a criminal or related case, the project can connect you with resources to aid in the defense of your client.

National Pregnancy Prosecution Tracking Study (PPTS)

Our Project also participates in a collaborative nationwide Pregnancy Prosecution Tracking Study (PPTS) in partnership with Pregnancy Justice (formerly National Advocates for Pregnant Women), the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law, and other law schools. The study researches prosecutions after Dobbs by gathering publicly available documents and data concerning prosecutions involving pregnancy and pregnancy-related outcomes in the U.S. filed between June 24, 2022 and June 23, 2025. The findings were published in a report titled: “Pregnancy as a Crime: A Preliminary Report on the First Year After Dobbs.”

Core Categories of Pregnancy Prosecution

The PPTS tracks and studies cases based on specific criteria to identify trends in criminalization:

• Criminal Prosecution Initiation: The initiation of any criminal prosecution and a set of factual allegations about events that happened during or concerning a pregnancy or pregnancy outcome, and in which these allegations are alleged to meet an element of the criminal offense. Such prosecutions could be brought against either the pregnant person or another individual.
• Penalty Enhancement and Modification: Cases where the State imposes harsher and/or different penalties (e.g., parole or probation revocation, sentence enhancement, or modification to pretrial release conditions) on a person because the person is pregnant, even if the precipitating arrest is not associated with pregnancy.

Reporting and Legal Resources

To support this research, individuals who know of an instance that may meet these criteria are encouraged to report the case. If you become aware of one in the future, please email the project at [email protected]. This ongoing data collection is essential for reproductive justice as a guiding framework to protect human rights and justice in the United States.