( CNN ) -- Savita Halappanavar died last month in Ireland after being denied a lifesaving abortion . If she had lived in the United States -- where in two months we will mark four decades of safe and legal abortion on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling -- she likely would be alive today . I was a little girl when this decision overturned state bans across the country that prevented women from access to medically safe procedures . Unlike my mother 's generation -- when women often died from self-induced abortions or back-alley abortions performed by a person with no skills or training , often under unsanitary conditions -- my siblings , friends , classmates and I grew up with the ability to make informed decisions when faced with an unintended or medically problematic pregnancy . Worldwide , many women are unable to make personal health decisions . The consequences are grave . According to a World Health Organization report , about 47,000 women die each year around the world from unsafe abortions . This accounts for about 13 % of all maternal deaths . Most of these women die in developing countries , where severe legal restrictions and lack of access to modern medical care drive women to seek unsafe procedures . By contrast , abortion in the United States is incredibly safe : Fewer than 0.3 % of women experience complications that require hospitalization . But Halappanavar died in a highly developed country . After 17 weeks of pregnancy , she went to the hospital , miscarrying and in extreme pain . Her husband says doctors denied requests for an abortion to save her life ; after three days the fetus died , and after suffering for four days , Savita Halappanavar died of blood poisoning . Her death in Ireland serves as a stark reminder that living in a developed country does not necessarily protect us from backward health policies . Lawmakers in Ireland who defend that country 's near-total ban on abortion rely on the same politically driven arguments echoed across much of the U.S. by opponents of women 's freedom to choose , as they try to chip away at access to safe and legal abortion . In Ohio , for example , legislators are considering a bill that would ban abortion early in pregnancy , even before some women know they are pregnant . According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute , half the women in our nation live in states hostile to abortion access ; and in 2011 alone , states enacted a record 92 provisions seeking to restrict women 's access to abortion . This is not the legacy I wish for my children . I want my son and daughter to grow up in a country where they make their own health care decisions and their privacy is respected . Unless we stand up to these attacks on women 's health and personal decision making , we are sure to hear more stories like Halappanavar 's -- and this time closer to home . Senseless decisions do not just happen in other countries . In Nebraska , doctors refused to allow Danielle Deaver to end her pregnancy after she learned her daughter would not survive , citing the state 's ban on abortion past 20 weeks gestation . Instead , Deaver was forced to deliver an infant who died moments after birth . Evidence shows time and again that banning abortion does not make it go away -- it merely leads to more unsafe abortions and more women dying . Some of the countries with the highest abortion rates worldwide have the most restrictive policies . On the other hand , countries with the lowest abortion rates tend to have more supportive abortion policies and strong policy support for contraception . Policymakers truly interested in reducing abortion should support strong investment in contraception at home and abroad . Under the Affordable Care Act , millions more Americans will be eligible for birth control coverage without a co-pay â€ ” which will have a tremendous impact for women across the country who find it a struggle to use contraception consistently because of its cost . The U.S. is the largest investor in global family planning and HIV/AIDS programs in the world . We need to protect these investments from budget cuts to ensure that women everywhere can plan and space their children 's births and prevent unintended pregnancy and disease . As the United Nations recently declared , access to contraception is a universal human right . We also need to fight for better access to safe and legal abortion at home and abroad . As Halappanavar 's case devastatingly demonstrates , even during a planned pregnancy , a woman must sometimes consider an abortion . The difficult decision to end a pregnancy , to choose adoption or to raise a child should be up to the woman , in consultation with her family , her faith and her doctor . On January 22 , when my family honors the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade , I want to be able to tell my children that our country is moving forward , not turning back the clocks . We will remember Savita Halappanavar on that day and repeat the mantra echoed at vigils in Ireland and around the world honoring her wholly preventable death : Never again . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Latanya Mapp Frett .
Savita Halappanavar died in Ireland after being denied an abortion . The Irish government has said it will not allow the procedure to be carried out on a woman who was raped and killed by her husband at Galway University Hospital last month. Before Roe v. Wade , women in U.S. often died from unsafe abortions . Frett : Abortion opponents in U.S. are trying to end a woman 's right to free choice . Banning abortion does not stop it , she writes , it leads to more women dying .