States with abortion bans see spike in ectopic pregnancy deaths
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Maternal health is likely to be an issue once again in the next Texas legislative session, amid a growing body of research that suggests the state's women need more support for their reproductive health and well-being.
Why it matters: Ectopic pregnancy deaths almost doubled in the U.S. between 2020 and 2025, per a new ProPublica investigation.
- The spike was much greater in states that banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ProPublica found.
Driving the news: President Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a new women's health division.
- The division will be tasked with researching conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women and improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment for them, per the Trump administration.
Reality check: The administration previously cut hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding for healthcare research, including for maternal health, per ProPublica.
State of health: Almost 200 women with an ectopic pregnancy died from 2020 to 2025 across the U.S., per the ProPublica analysis. About 100 died in the previous six years.
- In Texas, 310 more patients experienced substantial blood loss after an ectopic pregnancy — an increase of about 29% — from 2018–19 to 2023–24, per ProPublica's analysis.
- The increase appeared to begin during the pandemic, but the rate of complications stayed high after Texas imposed sweeping abortion restrictions in 2022, ProPublica says.
What they're saying: Maternal health experts told ProPublica that abortion bans alone can't explain the national rise but that any examination of the increase should include the documented delays in care for ectopic pregnancies caused by the laws.
Catch up quick: In Texas, healthcare providers can perform an abortion only if the patient's life is at risk or if the pregnancy poses serious risks to major bodily functions. The provider must attempt to save the fetus.
- The Legislature last year clarified the medical emergency exceptions to the ban, after confusion among physicians and pushback from women's health advocates.