Indigenous and Alaska Native women could face escalated violence if Roe is repealed

According to the CDC, Indigenous and Alaska Native women and Black women are more likely to die as a result of pregnancy than white women Photograph: Allison Bailey/Rex/Shutterstock

The repeal of federally protected abortion rights would result in an increase in violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and all those who birth, predicted the director of one of the leading research institutes on Indigenous and Alaska Native people across the US.

“The only option we have right now if this was to be overturned, is to provide the limited resources and support, but it will be limited, especially initially. As a direct result our people are going to suffer,” Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, told the Guardian.