A new analysis reveals Tennessee's inadequate social safety net for mothers and young children, highlighting the difficulties faced by families after the state's abortion ban.
Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she's infuriated by Tennessee 's meager social services , which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions.
'I was going to have my child no matter what, but for other women, that’s kind of a crappy situation that they put you in,' said Cagnacci, a 29-year-old Kingsport mom who relies on Medicaid and a federally funded nutrition program. 'You have to have your child. But where’s the assistance afterward?” Tennessee has a porous safety net for mothers and young children, recent research and an analysis by the Associated Press found. It’s unknown how many women in the state have given birth because they didn’t have access to abortion, but it is clear that from the time a Tennessee woman gets pregnant, she faces greater obstacles to a healthy pregnancy, a healthy child and a financially stable family than the average American mom. Like other states with strict abortion bans, Tennesseans of childbearing age are more likely to live in maternal care deserts and face overall doctor shortages. Women, infants and children are less likely to be enrolled in a government nutrition program known as WIC. And Tennessee is one of only 10 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid to a greater share of low-income families. “It’s survival, every day,” said Janie Busbee, founder of Mother to Mother, a Nashville-based nonprofit providing baby supplies for low-income moms. “If we took some of that stress off of them, then maybe they’d have time to dream.” GOP state leaders in Tennessee and other states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022 argue that they are bolstering services for familie
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