Pregnancy-related deaths in Texas almost double the nation's, data kept secret by state
Pregnant women in Texas may be on the edge of a health crisis, but the state refuses to release data that would allow doctors to examine the problem.
A national study found that:
The rate of pregnancy-related deaths among Texas women has nearly doubled in recent years, a national study found this month, while a separate state-commissioned study found that black women are especially vulnerable.
The information is being kept secret by Texas Department of State Health Services.
It's part of a broader trend, the slow erosion of the state's open records law and withering access to information about how state government does business.
Following the publication of a study this month done by the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology on national trends, the Texas state health department released its report on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force. The Dallas Morning News requested data related to those deaths through the Texas Public Information Act and was denied.