Dobbs’s Near-Total Destruction of Abortion Rights Across the South

Anti-abortion lawmakers are forcing women to travel hundreds of miles to obtain health care.

Laura O'Connor
September 8, 2026

Thousands of patients across the Southeastern United States are now being forced to travel more than 250 miles to access abortion care in North Carolina, according to a study recently published by The Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, completed by Dr. Kelsey Loeliger and her colleagues, quantified the South’s increasingly desperate abortion landscape, documenting the out-of-state abortion cases in North Carolina in the first year since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.

Anti-choice lawmakers throughout the Southeast have made abortion care inaccessible for tens of thousands of women, and now North Carolina—despite having its own anti-abortion policies—has become something of an “abortion refugee” state, with over 10,000 more people traveling from out of state to seek abortion care in the first year since Roe was overturned. Moreover, the study found that abortion bans disproportionately impact Black patients, adding to a growing body of research that underlines the racial underpinning of anti-abortion policymaking.

Continued: https://newrepublic.com/article/214851/south-dobbs-reproductive-health-landscape

Why Maternal Deaths Remain Alarmingly High In Nigeria

by Iniobong Ekponta
20 Aug 2026

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Prof. Ememabasi Bassey, has expressed concern over high rate of maternal deaths in Nigeria, and identified haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, sepsis, obstructed labour and complications of unsafe abortion among the leading direct causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria.

Bassey recalled that an estimated 74,559 Nigerian women who died from pregnancy-related causes in 2023, noting that the alarm figure represented about 204 deaths daily, while the maternal mortality ratio remains close to 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, adding that an estimated maternal mortality ratio of 774 per 100,000 live births are recorded in Akwa Ibom State.

Continued; https://leadership.ng/why-maternal-deaths-remain-alarmingly-high-in-nigeria-uuth-cmd/

20.08.2026

Uyo Teaching Hospital

Calling for the urgent protection of women’s sexual and reproductive health amid the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela

31 July 2026
FIGO - Dr Aparna Sridhar, Diya Shah Patel, Prof Helena Paro and Dr Margit Endle

In June 2026, two consecutive earthquakes killed at least 4,700 people and injured more than 16,000 individuals in Venezuela, exacerbating a pre-existing humanitarian crisis1. Close to 59,000 buildings are estimated to have been destroyed, and Venezuela’s already fragile infrastructure was further damaged, leaving many people displaced.2 Women’s sexual and reproductive health is expected to be further affected in the coming months, and efforts must be directed towards ensuring access to essential, life-saving health services.

After more than a decade of underfunding, health worker emigration and deteriorating public infrastructure, the current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has struck an already fragile reproductive health system. The country’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 125 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017, up from 52.8 in 1997, evidencing limited access to safe abortion services – abortion is only legally permitted when a woman’s life is at risk – and the erosion of decades of progress in maternal health. UNICEF’s 2026 humanitarian appeal for Venezuela was only 35 percent funded before the earthquakes struck, and capacity on the ground has been weakened by global funding cuts to the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) sector.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/blog/calling-urgent-protection-womens-sexual-and-reproductive-health-amid-humanitarian-crisis

31.07.2026

Commentary

FIGO

gender-based violence

maternal mortality

sexual and reproductive health and rights

Nigeria – Hidden cost of criminalising abortion in Lagos

The Eagle Online
July 28, 2026

Lagos State’s restrictive abortion laws have contributed to preventable deaths and other life-threatening complications. Yet the true scale of the crisis remains unknown, hidden by inadequate data, secrecy, stigma, and shame surrounding abortion. JULIANA FRANCIS examines the human cost of criminalising abortion, reliving the painful experiences of survivors and trauma borne by families who lost loved ones.

Death After Seeking Abortion From a Nurse
Pain, despair, and a hint of helplessness crisscrossed Amaka’s face as she recalled the events leading to the death of her younger sister, Ngozi, some years back. As Amaka struggled to rein in her emotions, she failed; tears streamed down her cheeks.

The reporter spoke with her at Ijegun in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, where her family resides. This was also where Ngozi resided until her death. Amaka, a Nollywood makeup artist, said that 22-year-old Ngozi died from a horrific abortion experience 10 years ago.

Continued: https://theeagleonline.com.ng/hidden-cost-of-criminalising-abortion-in-lagos-1-video/

28.07.2026

Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria

STOP guidelines for abortion

Nigeria – How MSI’s Family Planning Model Is Saving Lives, Lifting Women Out of Poverty

By Usman Bello
Sun, 26 Jul 2026

Ebonyi State has long ranked among Nigeria’s highest in maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy. But that reality is gradually shifting. A targeted family planning intervention by MSI Nigeria, implemented in partnership with the Ebonyi State Government through the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, is beginning to rewrite the story across rural communities.

Daily Trust, which joined a Solutions Journalism field trip to Enugu and Ebonyi States organised by MSI Nigeria and Nigeria Health Watch, reports on how the programme is improving women’s health, enhancing earnings, stabilising families, and reducing preventable deaths.

Continued: https://dailytrust.com/how-msis-family-planning-model-is-saving-lives-lifting-women-out-of-poverty/

Abortion in Africa: diverging paths of DR Congo and Nigeria under the Maputo Protocol

BMJ Essay, Open access
23 July 2026
Amos M Makelele, Baraka Marthe Kalyoko, Agness Shimilimo, Million Teklay Solomon, Simon Binezero Mambo, Iacane Bampoque, Gbolahan O Obajimi

Abortion policies in DRC and Nigeria: public health impacts
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nigeria, two of Africa’s largest and most populous nations, present unique yet interconnected narratives on abortion law and women’s reproductive rights. Both countries grapple with alarmingly high maternal mortality rates, a significant proportion of which is driven by complications from unsafe abortions.1 These challenges, rooted in restrictive legal frameworks, inadequate healthcare infrastructure and sociocultural barriers, highlight the critical need for reform in reproductive health policies and practices.

In the DRC, maternal mortality stands at an estimated 427 deaths per 100 000 live births.2 In Nigeria, the case is even worse, with maternal mortality rates reaching 993 deaths per 100 000 live births.3 One of the significant factors for these figures is unsafe abortion, especially in rural and underserved areas where access to quality reproductive healthcare remains restricted. According to the WHO, unsafe abortion contributes to 13% of global maternal deaths,4 but in Sub-Saharan Africa, it accounts for over 30%.5 These numbers highlight the significance of unsafe abortion as a public health crisis in the region, which demands urgent attention and action.

Continued: https://gh.bmj.com/content/11/7/e020673

23.07.2026

Commentary

Belgian Penal Code of 1940

Ipas

Maputo Protocol

maternal mortality

Youth Alliance for Reproductive Health

Africa

Democratic Republic of Congo

A groundbreaking UN resolution calls forced pregnancy what it is: reproductive violence

by Carrie N. Baker
July 22, 2026

It took until July 7, 2026, for the world’s leading human rights body to call forcing someone to be pregnant — or forcing them not to be — what it is: reproductive violence. In a landmark resolution adopted unanimously, the UN Human Rights Council formally recognized “reproductive violence” as a specific, systemic form of gender-based violence.

The resolution defines reproductive violence to include “forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced contraception, denial of contraception, and targeted attacks on reproductive healthcare facilities.” The resolution focuses on humanitarian situations, but the definition creates a new framework for protecting against “intentional acts or omissions that cause harm by interfering with reproductive autonomy,” defined as “the ability to make independent decisions about one’s reproduction free from coercion.”

Continued: https://gazettenet.com/2026/07/22/columnist-carrie-n-baker-a-groundbreaking-un-resolution-calls-forced-pregnancy-what-it-is-reproductive-violence/

Low-Cost Solutions to Maternal Mortality Already Exist

As foreign aid declines, policymakers in lower-income countries must increasingly focus on making better use of scarce resources. When it comes to maternal mortality, that means investing in simple, proven, and affordable interventions for postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and obstructed labor.

Jul 9, 2026
Ifeanyi M. Nsofor

SILVER SPRING—In early June, Melinda French Gates pledged $215 million to improve women’s health globally, with a focus on underfunded areas such as maternal care in Africa. The announcement comes at a critical moment. Every day, more than 700 women die during and following pregnancy and childbirth, despite the fact that many of the leading causes of maternal mortality are preventable with affordable, evidence-based interventions.

These maternal deaths are not evenly distributed. Roughly 87% of them occur in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, with the latter alone accounting for nearly 70%. By contrast, high-income countries experience far lower rates, although stark inequities remain. In the United States, for example, Black women are more than three times as likely as white women to die from maternity-related causes.

Continued; https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/increase-funding-for-proven-simple-solutions-to-maternal-mortality-by-ifeanyi-m-nsofor-2026-07

09.07.2026

postpartum hemorrhage

Kenya’s abortion taboo is killing thousands of women

Nairobi (AFP) – Kenya has one of the highest abortion rates in the world, yet US and religious pressure means the government is afraid of discussing the issue -- a combination that causes thousands of maternal deaths, according to figures from the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC).

July 3, 2026

Abortion is illegal in Kenya, but allowed whenever "the life or health of the mother is in danger" -- a loophole wide enough for hundreds of private clinics to operate legally across the east African country.

But it remains taboo for many in the religiously conservative society, and the government refuses to even count how many abortions occur.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260703-kenya-s-abortion-taboo-is-killing-thousands-of-women

Empowering Ethiopian Health: Sustainable Models and Domestic Financing

By Sisay Sahlu
June 20, 2026

For more than three decades, MSI Ethiopia has stood at the forefront of advancing reproductive healthcare and family planning across the nation. Dr. Abebe Shibru, country director for MSI Ethiopia Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes International Ethiopia), spoke with The Reporter’s Sisay Sahlu about his leadership and the organisation’s strategic shift amidst global financial cuts for the health sector.

The Director explained how MSI Ethiopia is transforming from a donor-dependent model into a financially self-sustaining social enterprise, reinvesting domestic revenue into outreach programs that reach Ethiopia’s most underserved communities. By partnering with religious and community leaders, as well as likeminded civic service organizations MSI Ethiopia has successfully challenged cultural misconceptions, expanded public awareness, and contributed to landmark policy reforms that drastically reduced maternal mortality and deaths by advancing choices of reproductive health.

Continued: https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/51277/

20.06.2026

Interviews/Podcasts

Dr. Abebe Shibru

Marie Stopes International Ethiopia