By Tara Woodlee, President of Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence
When Two Hearts Are Silenced: Why We Must Prioritize the Safety of Pregnant Women in America.
When Two Hearts Are Silenced, Every day in this country, pregnant women walk into doctors’ offices to hear the steady beat of a second heart growing inside them, full of hope, life, and possibility. But for far too many, that heartbeat is silenced not by medical complications, but by violence.
I know this truth all too well. My daughter Ashleigh was 20 years old, full of life, and 16 weeks pregnant with a baby girl she planned to name Patience Lynn when she was murdered by her partner. I lost both my daughter and my granddaughter in a single, devastating moment of domestic violence.
That pain lives with me every day, not just as a mother and grandmother, but as an advocate. I now lead Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV), and I’ve made it my mission to shine a light on the hidden epidemic that far too many are unwilling to talk about: the staggering rates of homicide among pregnant and postpartum women in the United States.
The Hidden Epidemic No One Is Talking About
Recent studies have shown that homicide is now one of the leading — and in some states, the leading — cause of death among pregnant women, often at the hands of intimate partners. These women are not just statistics — they are daughters, sisters, friends, and mothers-to-be.
This crisis has been largely ignored in public health discourse. And recently, under the current administration, more than 350 federal research and victim support grants were quietly canceled — many of them tied directly to domestic violence prevention and maternal health. While funds have been redirected toward law enforcement-based strategies, critical research into intimate partner violence and pregnancy-related homicide was shuttered midstream.
Why National Research Matters
Some may ask, “Aren’t the states already studying this? Don’t we already know the risks?” The truth is, we only see part of the picture.
To understand why national research is not only necessary but life-saving, take a look at the comparison below:
| Aspect | State-Level Studies | National-Level Studies |
| Data Scope | Limited to individual state populations | Covers all U.S. states and territories |
| Consistency | Varies by state | Standardized definitions and methods |
| Statistical Power | Small sample sizes | Stronger analysis and trend detection |
| Comparability | Hard to compare across states | Allows regional and national comparison |
| Policy Impact | Informs state programs | Influences federal policy |
| Data Gaps | Some states lack data | Fills gaps from underreporting states |
| Disparity Analysis | May miss key trends | Reveals national inequities |
| Funding Justification | Limited data, harder to fund | Supports large-scale initiatives |
| Public Health Response | Often reactive | Supports systemic strategies |
Why It Matters to Me — And Why It Should Matter to You
As Ashleigh’s mother, I’m haunted not only by her absence but by the knowledge that we could be doing so much more to prevent these deaths. My granddaughter never got a chance to take her first breath. How many more Patience Lynns will be lost before we act?
This is not a political message — it is a public service call to protect some of the most vulnerable among us. We need national research, targeted funding, survivor-informed prevention programs, and real conversations about how domestic violence doesn’t pause for pregnancy. It often escalates.
What You Can Do
- Demand accountability from our public health and justice systems.
- Support organizations like BTSADV that are fighting every day to save lives.
- Share this message, especially with healthcare providers, educators, and policymakers.
- Honor the stories of women like Ashleigh and the many others whose names never make the news.
Every mother deserves to bring her child into a world that’s safer than the one she knew. Every unborn child deserves the chance to live.
Until that is our reality, I will not stop speaking. Not as the President of an organization. But as a mother who will always be missing her daughter.
And her granddaughter. Read more… https://breakthesilencedv.org/?page_id=15328 More resources at https://www.hopespromise.com/pregnancy-support-counseling/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADPu64e7EUKjkXOdFfApE5kuBoRH5&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt8zABhDKARIsAHXuD7Z8kekktIFKXRSg35GwVm0auQC42eCxawlJWbAGTpTUsNFl66MdSGYaAtXMEALw_wcB
