The abortion debate in America is putting lives of women thousands of miles away at risk, particularly in Africa.
For decades, U.S. anti-abortion groups have lobbied for more restrictions on abortion at home and abroad. This year, the Trump administration delivered new momentum to the movement exporting “family values” overseas. It announced sweeping restrictions on U.S. funding for organizations that work on abortion-related issues overseas, which can impact up to $30 billion in aid.
These new restrictions build on the work that U.S. anti-abortion groups have been doing for years in Africa, where healthcare systems are highly dependent on foreign funding.
An analysis by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change found that 17 U.S. anti-abortion nonprofit groups spent more than $9.3 million across Africa in 2023 and 2024. That’s on top of $16 million they sent to the continent from 2019 to 2022 — which is an underestimate, the researchers said.
The U.S. support has emboldened harassment of those working on reproductive rights. Doctors, nurses and activists in several African countries have been detained, threatened on social media and targeted with lawsuits.
Africa is already the deadliest place in the world to be a woman of reproductive age, with the highest proportions of maternal deaths and unsafe abortions. While the Trump administration and anti-abortion groups say they are protecting lives, healthcare providers and activists say the result is more women dying.
The U.S. State Department, in response to an Associated Press request for comment on the Trump administration’s new rules governing American aid overseas, said: “The American people expect their tax dollars to support programs that save lives … and reflect American values, not fund abortion-related activities, left-wing social agendas, or wasteful overseas bureaucracies.”
“U.S. assistance continues to support a wide range of maternal and child health services as part of the America First Global Health Strategy,” it said in a statement.
Here are takeaways from the AP report.
U.S. funding kept on flowing to Africa
It’s difficult to track the full scope of the funding U.S. anti-abortion charitable groups send to Africa.
Publicly available information from the nonprofit tax filings of the 17 groups the Institute for Journalism and Social Change looked at shows the money sent to Africa jumped 50% between 2019 and 2022, to over $16 million.
And the funding kept growing: The organizations spent almost $9.4 million in Africa during 2023 and 2024, previously unreported data analyzed by the group shows.
But that’s “just the tip of the iceberg,” said the institute’s Claire Provost.
Unlike other tax-exempt charitable organizations, U.S.-based churches and some religious groups are not required to complete annual financial disclosures detailing revenue, contributions and expenses.
Support from U.S. groups emboldens harassment
Marie Stopes International said in a 2024 report that staff at its reproductive health clinics in several African countries reported online and legal attacks from U.S.-based anti-abortion groups and U.S.-funded local organizations. In Congo, it said, health workers have been detained for days for providing legally permissible services before being released without charge.
“The extent of the opposition has made abortion providers fearful of coming into work,” the report said.
In Ethiopia, the group said, the head of the local office of U.S.-based Family Watch International has “targeted and trolled members of our senior leadership team on social media,” and released YouTube videos promoting anti-abortion misinformation.
In Kenya, the names and addresses of staff at reproductive rights organizations have been published online, accusing them of murder.
The owner of a private abortion clinic in Nairobi said staff members have been harassed by police and detained. Officials demand bribes, threatening charges if they don’t pay up, the owner said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.
The Kenyan Health Ministry, Justice Ministry and the government spokesperson’s office did not reply to repeated AP attempts for comment, including detailed questions sent via email.
Limited progress is being reversed
An international convention signed by African countries two decades ago declared safe abortion a human right. Known as the Maputo Protocol, it obliges signatory nations to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal malformation or risk to a woman’s health. But implementation has been spotty, forcing women to seek illicit procedures. Every year, sub-Saharan Africa records over 6 million unsafe abortions, according to the African Institute for Development Policy.
Last year, anti-abortion Christian groups from the U.S., Europe and Africa and high-ranking Kenyan officials gathered in Nairobi for a conference on “Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times.”
Charles Kanjama, vice chairman of African Christian Professionals Forum, the conference organizer, said the debate over abortion is “a culture war.”
And the anti-abortion agenda is gaining momentum.
In May, an appeals court in Kenya overturned a ruling that affirmed access to abortion is a fundamental right — a case led by Kanjama, who said the decision “restored constitutional balance.”
In June, representatives of 20 African countries finalized a draft charter at a conference in Ghana that calls for rejecting sexual and reproductive health rights. It will be voted on by the African Union next year. U.S.-based anti-abortion group Family Watch International’s co-founder, Sharon Slater, was among those fundraising for the charter’s passage at the European Parliament in Brussels this year.
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