United States Intensifies Global Anti-Abortion Efforts, Raising Health Risks for Women in Africa
For many years, anti-abortion organizations in the U.S. have advocated both domestically and internationally for limitations on abortion access.
Within the United States, their most significant achievement was the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Currently, the Trump administration is providing renewed impetus to this movement, extending its promotion of “family values” to countries worldwide.
With the administration escalating its worldwide campaign against abortion, an increasing number of women across Africa face elevated dangers of severe health issues and mortality.
These broadened restrictions extend the anti-abortion advocacy efforts undertaken by conservative American non-profit organizations overseas, particularly in Africa, a continent where healthcare relies heavily on international assistance. This area records the highest estimated percentage of unsafe abortions globally and the highest maternal mortality figures, encompassing the greatest count of maternal fatalities per 100,000 abortions.
“We’re gonna start blocking every international NGO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving a dollar of U.S. money,” Vice President JD Vance informed a gathering of anti-abortion activists in Washington earlier this year.
During the yearly March for Life event, Vance declared a substantial increase in limitations on U.S. financial support for groups that advocate for abortion, gender-affirming care, and diversity programs internationally, continuing a legacy of efforts by American anti-abortion organizations.
For an extended period, these organizations have aimed to curtail abortion access both domestically and in other countries.
The Trump administration invigorated initiatives to advance conservative family values internationally by implementing extensive alterations to U.S. foreign assistance policies.
These new regulations signify a considerable broadening of previous U.S. policies that had reduced aid to international organizations offering abortion-related services.
According to experts, a minimum of $30 billion in American aid might be impacted, potentially altering health policies across the globe.
Ascertaining the complete extent of financial contributions from U.S. anti-abortion charitable organizations to Africa proved challenging.
A review of tax documents from 17 non-profit entities revealed that their expenditures in Africa increased by 50% from 2019 to 2022, exceeding $16 million.
This growth continued, reaching almost $9.4 million solely in 2023 and 2024, based on previously undisclosed data examined by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change.
This represents only a fraction of the total, stated Claire Provost from the institute.
“We can see quite clearly from the publicly available financial filings of US Christian right groups that they have been making historic investments in Africa,” Provost commented.
“The amounts of money are significant, the increases are significant. And this reflects a lot of what we’re hearing from sexual and reproductive rights activists on the continent that have been flagging repeatedly the increasing visibility of U.S. groups and U.S. funded groups, U.S. supported groups, in battles against rights that are extremely, extremely serious.”
In Kenya, recognized as one of Africa’s more prosperous nations, an average of seven women succumb daily to complications arising from unsafe abortions.
The Kenyan Constitution, enacted in 2010, allows for abortion when a woman’s health or life is in jeopardy.
Later judicial rulings further permitted abortions in instances of rape, incest, or a significant risk to a woman’s mental well-being.
However, a substantial legal ambiguity persists.
Kenya’s penal code, originating from the colonial period, still criminalizes individuals who provide abortions and women who seek the procedure, with potential penalties of up to 14 years in incarceration.
Within Karabok, a village located in rural Kenya, two trees designate the burial site of Mary Olouch, mere meters from where the 25-year-old tragically died from bleeding following an unsafe abortion.
Olouch was already a mother to a young child when she discovered her pregnancy.
Her husband was not informed.
One evening, upon his return home, he discovered her bleeding. He quickly transported her to the hospital, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Olouch was ineligible for an abortion at a public hospital and lacked the financial means for a private clinic, given her modest earnings from selling fish. Abortion is associated with significant stigma in rural areas, and husbands frequently prohibit women from using contraception, explained Loice Ochieng, a community health volunteer overseeing family planning in the village.
Following Olouch’s passing, women in Karabok began discussing abortion more candidly, a topic that had previously been considered taboo for many, Ochieng noted.
Now, she stated, if women “have a problem, they come to me, they ask. Because they have seen that this thing can cause death.”
