A new analysis of CDC data by ProPublica has revealed that nearly 200 women died nationwide as a result of an ectopic pregnancy from 2020 to 2025, compared with about 100 in the previous six years. The number of fatalities was higher in states with strict abortion bans, the outlet found: 13.1 deaths per million live births. The national rate is 9.8. In states without abortion bans, it’s 7.1.
ProPublica emphasizes that this data has drawn little scrutiny or response from the Trump administration or government health officials. While these numbers may seem small, a near-doubling in the fatality rate from ectopic pregnancy is notable because these deaths are preventable. The treatment is an abortion, either with medication or surgery.
“A death related to ectopic pregnancy should really be a never event,” Dr. Alice Abernathy, an OB-GYN in Philadelphia, told ProPublica.
Ectopic pregnancy occurs when an embryo implants somewhere other than inside the uterus. Roughly 90% of ectopic pregnancies implant inside the fallopian tubes, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), but they can also occur in the cervix, ovaries, abdomen, and even in C-section scars. If the embryo begins to grow in any of these places, it can cause organ rupture and severe internal bleeding. Left untreated, it can be fatal.
Ectopic pregnancies are not viable, and “treatment for ectopic pregnancy requires ending a nonviable pregnancy,” ACOG states.
While the chaos of delivering care during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to some of these deaths, ProPublica’s analysis shows that the surge in ectopic pregnancy deaths is ongoing. “While rates for other pregnancy-related deaths also increased during the pandemic, those climbs have largely subsided,” their report states.
Meanwhile, their reporting found a growing number of lawsuits from women claiming that hospitals and OB-GYNs delayed care or “flat-out” refused to terminate ectopic pregnancies in states where they may face criminal charges for performing abortions.
Medical experts told ProPublica that states with abortion bans historically have poorer maternal health outcomes, so more research is needed to determine how much the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Trump-era restrictions in recent years have contributed to the spike in ectopic pregnancy-related deaths.
While many states with abortion bans have exceptions for ectopic pregnancies, diagnosing one isn’t always easy. Doctors want to see an embryo out of place on the ultrasound, which isn’t always possible in the early weeks of pregnancy. But if they provide an abortion on symptoms alone — for example, if a woman presents with abdominal pain, bleeding, unstable vitals, and a positive pregnancy test — they could be setting themselves up for criminal charges. ProPublica spoke with multiple women whose care was delayed because doctors were afraid to act even though they believed they had ectopic pregnancies.
Back in April, HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared before Congress that improving maternal health outcomes in the U.S. was one of his top priorities. An HHS spokesperson told ProPublica that the agency continues to “track mortality trends, investigate their causes, and provide funding for research.” So, why hasn’t the administration responded to this spike in deaths?
When President Trump slashed millions of dollars in funding for health care research, that included laying off most of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health’s 100 employees. The entire team responsible for running the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, which would normally be responsible for investigating this surge, has also been on administrative leave since April 2025.
The official position of ACOG, the leading authority on maternal health care in America, is that “laws limiting, restricting, or directing treatment of ectopic pregnancy are dangerous and unethical”:
“Abortion bans threaten to impede ectopic pregnancy treatment. Abortion bans — even those with exceptions for ectopic pregnancy — can generate confusion for patients and health care professionals and can result in delays to treatment. Health care professionals should never have to navigate vague legal or statutory language to determine whether the law allows them to exercise their professional judgment and provide evidence-based care. Any application of an abortion ban that affects those in need of treatment for ectopic pregnancy is inappropriate and will certainly cost lives.”
