Kavitha Surana
I have been reporting on changes to reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
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What I Cover
I have been reporting on changes to reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
I regularly speak with doctors, patients, researchers, community workers and lawmakers to better understand how maternal health care has been affected by abortion restrictions. Learn more about how ProPublica covers maternal health and how to get in touch.
My Background
I joined ProPublica as a national reporter in 2022. Since then, I have investigated the consequences of state abortion bans for people facing life-threatening pregnancy complications, including uncovering deaths that could have been prevented, and a rise in maternal sepsis rates in Texas after the state banned abortion.
The reporting led to a federal investigation and spurred lawmakers in multiple states to file bills expanding abortion access. I interviewed experts across the country to help create a guide on the medical procedures that could save your life during a pregnancy loss.
My reporting has taken me inside a hospital abortion committee and a private meeting between anti-abortion activists urging Republican lawmakers not to change a strict ban.
I also spent a year partnering with a photographer to document one family’s struggle to navigate Tenneessee’s social safety net after being denied an abortion for a life-threatening pregnancy.
Before joining ProPublica, I reported on housing, law enforcement and health care inequality at the Tampa Bay Times and BuzzFeed News. I was previously a 2018 fellow at ProPublica covering immigration.
I got my start in international journalism. I interned at the Associated Press in Rome and was a fellow at Foreign Policy magazine. I speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French, and I’ve reported from Italy, Germany, Rwanda, Colombia and Senegal.
A Pregnant Teenager Died After Trying to Get Care in Three Visits to Texas Emergency Rooms
It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened. Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm “fetal demise.” She’s one of at least two Texas women who died under the state’s abortion ban.
A Woman Died After Being Told It Would Be a “Crime” to Intervene in Her Miscarriage at a Texas Hospital
Josseli Barnica is one of at least two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed emergency care. She’d told her husband that the medical team said it couldn’t act until the fetal heartbeat stopped.
Georgia Judge Lifts Six-Week Abortion Ban After Deaths of Two Women Who Couldn’t Access Care
Abortion clinics rushed to provide care after a judge rejected the state’s ban, an order that could soon be paused by a higher court. It’s only the latest development since ProPublica reported the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.
Did a Georgia Hospital Break Federal Law When It Failed to Save Amber Thurman? A Senate Committee Chair Wants Answers.
Thurman died after waiting 20 hours for emergency care under the state’s abortion ban. Sen. Ron Wyden demanded records his committee could review to determine whether the hospital violated the law. “It’s not even a question,” one expert said.
Afraid to Seek Care Amid Georgia’s Abortion Ban, She Stayed at Home and Died
Candi Miller’s family said she didn't visit a doctor “due to the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions.” Maternal health experts deemed her death preventable and blamed Georgia’s abortion ban.
Texas Sends Millions to Crisis Pregnancy Centers. It’s Meant to Help Needy Families, But No One Knows if It Works.
Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Texas leads the nation in funding for crisis pregnancy centers. The system is meant to help growing families, but it’s riddled with waste and lacks oversight, a ProPublica and CBS News investigation found.
Their States Banned Abortion. Doctors Now Say They Can't Give Women Potential Lifesaving Care.
In Tennessee and other states that banned abortion, doctors are left to debate high-risk pregnancy cases with their colleagues. ProPublica takes an exclusive look inside those discussions.
Some Republicans Were Willing to Compromise on Abortion Ban Exceptions. Activists Made Sure They Didn’t.
ProPublica reviewed 12 of the nation’s strictest abortion bans. Few changed in 2023, as state lawmakers caved to pressure from anti-abortion groups opposing exceptions for rape, incest and health risks.
Pregnancy Is More Dangerous When Abortion Access Is Limited, but Maternal Death Data Is Hard to Track
It’s clear that abortion bans can make pregnancy more dangerous, but experts say it may take years for maternal mortality data to reveal the toll.
Hospitals in Two States Denied an Abortion to a Miscarrying Patient. Investigators Say They Broke Federal Law.
Doctors told her she might die but she couldn’t have an abortion under state law until she got sicker, documents show. The Biden administration says failing to act violates a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care.