Share Your Story
We want to hear from you. Your story might be about abortion, birth control, pregnancy or miscarriage care, or another experience.
Press Release
Reproductive Freedom for All Responds to Sharp Rise in Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths, with Highest Rates in Abortion-Ban States
Washington, DC — A new ProPublica analysis of CDC records found that nearly 200 women died following an ectopic pregnancy between 2020 and 2025, roughly twice the number recorded over the previous six years.
The deaths rose nationwide, with the steepest rise recorded in Republican-led states that enacted abortion bans after the Dobbs decision. Between 2023 and 2025, states with abortion bans that begin at six weeks or earlier recorded 13.1 ectopic-related deaths per million live births, while states without bans recorded 7.1 deaths per million. This data is just the latest proof point of the deadly impact of abortion bans pushed by Republican politicians.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“Every politician who supports abortion bans has blood on their hands. No one is safe in a patchwork system where access to life-saving care depends on what state you live in and whether your provider feels safe doing their job.”
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. It cannot develop normally and can cause life-threatening internal bleeding. Clinicians have treated the condition effectively for decades, either with medication or surgery, but ectopic pregnancy is still the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester. Disparities in access to care are only worsening the crisis.
This new data comes as the federal government’s efforts to investigate the rise in maternal deaths are shrinking. In April, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress that maternal health is a priority for his department, but his actions said otherwise. At that point in time, the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health had lost most of its roughly 100 employees, the team running the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System had been placed on paid administrative leave, and the agency had cut off funding for training emergency physicians to manage pregnancy complications. These calculated cuts and decisions by the Trump administration are putting patients’ lives in danger and causing maternal deaths to spike.
###
For over 55 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.
ICYMI National