Abortion restrictions and unsafe abortion practices continue to endanger women’s lives across the globe, with recent data from Kenya and the United States highlighting a troubling pattern: when access to safe, legal abortion is limited or denied, maternal mortality and violence against pregnant people rise sharply.
Why it matters:
Unsafe abortions remain a leading cause of maternal deaths in Kenya, while in the United States, abortion bans have been directly linked to increased fatalities—both from health complications and from intimate partner violence. These parallel crises underscore how reproductive health policy has life-or-death consequences for women and pregnant people, especially those in vulnerable situations.
Driving the news:
- In 2023, Kenya recorded over 792,000 induced abortions, with more than 80% involving married women, according to the Ministry of Health. Nearly half of women treated for abortion-related complications presented with moderate to severe conditions such as sepsis, heavy bleeding, or organ damage.
- Only 18% of primary-level and 24% of referral-level health facilities in Kenya met standards for comprehensive post-abortion care in 2023, leaving hundreds of thousands of women reliant on under-resourced clinics.
- In the United States, a Texas man killed his girlfriend in May 2023 after she traveled to Colorado for an abortion, a tragedy that followed Texas’s sweeping abortion ban. This case is one of many where pregnancy and abortion restrictions have escalated violence against women.
- Between 2017 and 2023, 72 women in Texas were killed by intimate partners while pregnant or within one year postpartum, based on data from the Texas Council on Family Violence.
- ProPublica reported five confirmed deaths in Texas and Georgia by the end of 2024 directly resulting from abortion bans, including cases where hospitals delayed or denied emergency abortion care, leading to fatal complications.
What they’re saying:
- “Every day, we meet women who feel they have no safe options,” said Dr. Walter Obita, Country Director at MSI Reproductive Choices Kenya, reflecting on the desperation faced by women unable to access safe abortion care.
- “These are preventable deaths. With the right resources, no woman should die simply because she could not access safe care,” Dr. Obita emphasized, highlighting the urgent need for expanded reproductive health services.
- “Banning abortion care for survivors of intimate partner violence is anything but accommodating to survivor-centered services, threatening the safety of thousands of survivors as they try to restore safety, privacy and autonomy to their lives,” stated Molly Voyles, director of public policy at the Texas Council on Family Violence.
- “Survivors are being trapped by these abortion laws. In this really terrible new landscape, it’s only going to... cause more death, more violence targeting people who are in abusive relationships,” said Marrium Durrani, vice president of policy at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, in 2024.
- “Instead of putting laws in place to make pregnancies safer, we created laws that put them back in danger,” said Hope Ngumezi, husband of Porsha Ngumezi, who died after being denied an emergency abortion in Texas.
State of play:
- MSI Reproductive Choices Kenya has provided over one million safe abortion and post-abortion care services across more than 500 service points over the past 40 years. Yet, unsafe abortions continue to claim thousands of lives annually, particularly among women in informal settlements and remote regions who cannot afford private healthcare or reach well-equipped facilities.
- In the U.S., homicide—mostly by intimate partners—is now the leading cause of death for pregnant people. Abortion bans force individuals in unsafe relationships to remain pregnant against their will, increasing their risk of severe violence or fatality.
- Advocates and service providers report that restrictions not only endanger women’s physical health but also intensify their vulnerability to abuse. Victims may be too afraid to seek help, fearing legal repercussions or further violence from partners.
- Abortion bans have also led to delays and denials of emergency medical care for miscarriage and pregnancy complications. In Georgia, two Black mothers died after hospitals delayed emergency abortion procedures, and in Texas, hospitals repeatedly turned away a teenager suffering pregnancy complications, resulting in her death from sepsis.
- The compounded effect of abortion restrictions and expanded access to firearms for abusers, following Supreme Court decisions in 2022, has further endangered pregnant women, as highlighted by Everytown for Gun Safety’s finding that 70 women are shot and killed by intimate partners each month in the U.S.
By the numbers:
- 792,694 induced abortions were recorded in Kenya in 2023.
- More than 300,000 women in Kenya sought treatment for abortion-related complications that year.
- Only 18% of primary and 24% of referral health facilities in Kenya met care standards for post-abortion treatment.
- Approximately 2,600 deaths per year in Kenya are attributed to unsafe abortions, equating to about seven every day.
- In Texas, maternal deaths increased by 56% between 2019 and 2022, compared to an 11% rise nationwide, with abortion bans cited as a primary driver.
- Between 2014 and 2020, a study estimated 24 women and girls were victims of intimate partner violence-related homicide associated with anti-abortion laws in the U.S.
Zoom in:
- Abortion bans increase not only the risk of fatal violence but also suicide among pregnant people, as shown by a 2022 University of Pennsylvania study. Ohio doctors cited cases where women threatened suicide after being denied abortions.
- Communities of color bear a disproportionate burden. Black pregnant people are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy and birth-related causes, and 57% of Black women and people capable of pregnancy live in states with abortion bans or significant threats to access.
- Suppression of maternal mortality data in some states, such as Georgia and Texas, has made it harder to track the full impact of abortion bans on women’s health and safety.
What to watch:
- Advocates warn that the true toll of abortion restrictions on domestic violence and maternal mortality may not be fully understood for years due to delays in criminal justice and health data reporting.
- Healthcare providers and support organizations continue to navigate a legal landscape where aiding women in need of abortion care can carry significant risk, both for patients and providers.
The bottom line:
From Kenya to the United States, evidence is mounting that abortion restrictions and inadequate access to safe reproductive healthcare put women’s lives at risk—through unsafe procedures, delayed emergency care, and heightened exposure to violence. The stories and statistics from both countries serve as a stark reminder that the fight for reproductive rights is, at its core, a fight for survival and dignity.
