New Report Reveals How Abortion, Pregnancy Care, Broadband Internet, and Food Deserts Are Endangering Women Across the U.S.

A map of the United States of America with blue highlighted areas denoting where there are access deserts

Washington, D.C. (April 14, 2025) — A new report from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) exposes the devastating reality of reproductive health care and resource deserts where abortion care, pregnancy care, broadband internet, and access to healthy food are severely limited or nonexistent. 

When Women Are Deserted: The Prevalence and Intersection of Abortion Care Deserts, Pregnancy Care Deserts, Broadband Internet Deserts, and Food Deserts in the United States highlights how these systemic inequities disproportionately harm Black and Latina women, particularly in states like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.

The report finds that:

  • More than 41 million women in the U.S. live in areas with little or no access to abortion care, pregnancy care, healthy food, or broadband internet.
  • Abortion deserts exist in just under half of all U.S. counties.
  • Nearly 40% of all counties in the U.S. are pregnancy care deserts.
  • Nearly one-quarter of all counties in the U.S. are abortion and pregnancy care deserts.
  • Nearly 7 million women, including over 2.2 million women of color, live in counties where two or more of these deserts overlap.
  • Black and Latina women are overrepresented in abortion care deserts, increasing their risk of adverse health outcomes and widening racial disparities in maternal health.
  • Black women make up 1 in 7 residents living in areas with all four types of deserts, double their share of the U.S. population.

“Reproductive health care and resource deserts are putting women’s lives at risk,” said Lexi Rummel, lead author of the report and counsel at NWLC. “When communities lack access to abortion and pregnancy care, healthy food, and even broadband internet, which is essential for accessing telehealth services and health information, their health suffers. These overlapping barriers deepen racial disparities in health and economic security. Policymakers must take urgent action to ensure all communities have access to the essential care and resources they need to thrive.”

The full report is available here.