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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Do hundreds of women in the US die from legal abortions each year?

By Lisa Freedland
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NO

Very few women die from legal abortions, while far more die from illegal, unsafe abortions.

In 2018 (the latest data year available), the CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System documented only two deaths from complications related to legal abortion out of 615,000 abortions recorded that year. Between 2013 and 2018, the U.S. case-fatality rate for legal abortions was 0.41 deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions.

In comparison, the World Health Organization reported that in developed nations, 30 per 100,000 women die from unsafe abortions yearly. In developing nations, the rate rises to 220 deaths per 100,000 abortions. According to the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 22,800 women worldwide died from unsafe abortions in 2014.

A 2021 study published in the journal Demography found that banning legal abortion in the U.S. would cause a 21% increase in pregnancy-related deaths by driving women to seek out unsafe abortions.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2019
World Health Organization Abortion
Guttmacher Institute New Report Highlights Worldwide Variations in Abortion Incidence and Safety
Demography (Duke University) The Pregnancy-Related Mortality Impact of a Total Abortion Ban in the United States: A Research Note on Increased Deaths Due to Remaining Pregnant
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.