Health
Ectopic pregnancy deaths rose sharply nationwide, report says
ProPublica reports that ectopic pregnancy fatalities roughly doubled from 2020 to 2025, climbing fastest in states restricting abortion.
The short version
- Nearly 200 women died from ectopic pregnancy conditions between 2020 and 2025, roughly twice the number recorded over the preceding six years.[ProPublica]
- Fatalities rose across the country, but the increase was substantially steeper in states enacting abortion bans following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.[ProPublica]
- Maternal health specialists note that state abortion prohibitions do not entirely account for the national surge, and gaps in diagnostic reporting obscure whether cases are growing overall.[ProPublica]
Key facts
- Almost 200 women died from ectopic pregnancy conditions between 2020 and 2025, compared with approximately 100 during the prior six years, according to a ProPublica review of CDC data.[ProPublica]
- The upward trajectory in ectopic pregnancy fatalities was significantly steeper in states that prohibited abortion after the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling.[ProPublica]
- Maternal health professionals stated that state abortion bans alone do not account for the countrywide increase in ectopic deaths.[ProPublica]
- Hospitals are not mandated by government agencies to record or submit overall ectopic pregnancy diagnoses.[ProPublica]
What remains uncertain
- It remains impossible to determine whether the general incidence of ectopic pregnancies is increasing because federal and state agencies do not mandate hospital diagnosis tracking.[ProPublica]
- Anti-abortion groups have alleged that telehealth abortion medication prescriptions contribute to undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies due to absent ultrasound scans, though this remains an unverified claim.[ProPublica]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.