Here's how Black women in Georgia — a state with an 'abysmal' maternal mortality rate — will face a public health crisis if Roe v. Wade is overturned

• Last week Politico obtained a leaked draft opinion that suggested that SCOTUS is set to overturn Roe v Wade.
• Although not finalized, the document ignited protests for reproductive justice across the country.

Reproductive rights advocates saw a possible end to Roe v. Wade coming for years. But those in the South, especially, have been ringing alarms about how the move could disproportionately impact Black people who are forced to carry out a pregnancy.

"This has been the goal for years (and) decades," Kendra Cotton, COO of the nonprofit civic engagement organization New Georgia Project, told Insider. "Conservatives have been trying to whittle away at the protections provided under Roe."

In a leaked draft opinion reported by Politico, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion, "must be overruled." While the Supreme Court confirmed the draft as authentic, it has yet to be finalized. The justices are expected to issue a ruling in June.

Protests erupted around the country, including in Georgia, where a controversial "heartbeat" law could go into effect and ban abortion after six weeks, -- or when many people don't know their pregnant, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

In the Peach State, the fate of Roe v. Wade could have harrowing consequences for Black women, in particular.

Georgia's maternal mortality rate 'is abysmal'

Black women, a group more prone to maternal-related death compared to their counterparts, fall in the majority of those who have more unintended pregnancies and thus are more likely to get an abortion, per the Guttmacher Institute.

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the maternal mortality rate for Black women significantly increased from 2019 to 2020. In Georgia, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.

"Our maternal mortality rate here in Georgia, I mean, hell in the US period, is abysmal," Cotton said, pointing to a state that had one of those worst rates in the US. "Particularly among Black and brown women, we regularly rank among the worst in the country."

Experts have warned that given this maternal mortality rate, an end to abortion rights protections would induce a public health crisis.

According to a 2021 study from the University of Colorado Boulder, a potential ban on abortion will cause a 33% surge of pregnancy-related deaths for Black women. In the study, the expert determined that carrying out a pregnancy would be more dangerous than terminating one under total abortion bans.

"The takeaway here is that if you deny people abortion, pregnancy-related deaths will increase because staying pregnant is more dangerous to a woman than having an abortion," Amanda Stevenson, an assistant professor of sociology, said in the study.

"Non-Hispanic Black people would experience the greatest increase in deaths," she added.

Abortion is 'a justice issue,' advocates in Georgia say

Advocates and experts have argued that generally, women of color who are more likely to be imprisoned if abortion is criminalized.

"For Black women leaders like myself who have been fighting for reproductive justice for a decade or more have been talking about the importance of fighting for abortion access side by side the other kinds of justice issues that are as important to Black women's lives," said Malika Redmond, CEO of Women Engaged, a social justice nonprofit located in Atlanta.

"It is a justice issue, it's an economic issue, it's a safety issue, it's a healthcare issue, and that it needs to be thought of that way versus sort of single-issue only," she added.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, "it's going to disproportionately impact people of lesser economic means, which by large are people of color, and that they're going to have to travel long distances to haven states where abortion is legal," Cotton said.

"It's because we have inadequate access to healthcare in our state, lack of Medicaid expansion. We have hospital closures across the state, especially in rural areas," she added. Cotton pointed to rural locals, "where women have to travel 90 to 120 miles just to see an OB-GYN."

"That is problematic," she said.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortions would be illegal in 23 states. The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a final decision in June. Until then, abortion will remain legal in the United States.

"Make no mistake should this opinion come down and become official, as we all expect it to be done in June ... that's not going to reduce the number of abortions taking place in the US. It's just not," Cotton said. "What it does is simply going to make it less safe for folks living and residing in locals where it has been, where it immediately becomes illegal."