Madison Cawthorn Wants To Include Abortions In Death Rates

If Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) has his way, abortions would be included in death rates moving forward.

On Tuesday, the far-right congressman introduced the Seeking Official Uncounted Lives Statistics Act, or SOULS Act. If passed, the bill would require the Centers for Disease Control and prevention to include “to the extent possible, aborted children in death numbers and rates.”

Currently, the CDC tracks abortions separately, via data that states and other areas voluntarily report to the agency.

Establishing personhood rights for fetuses has long been a goal of abortion opponents. Reproductive rights advocates warn that doing so would result in pregnant people totally losing control over their own pregnancies and being forced to accept unwanted medical procedures, with “dangerous, even deadly, consequences,” according to a Thursday op-ed in The Washington Post by California State University professor Rebecca Kluchin.

Cawthorn’s proposed legislation comes at a time when five Supreme Court justices have reportedly signed on to a draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade and could be used to justify contraception bans.