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Infant mortality rate rose 8% in wake of Texas
abortion ban, study shows


In the wake of Texas’ abortion ban, the state’s
infant death rate increased and more died of birth
defects, a study published Monday shows.

The analysis out of Johns Hopkins University is the
latest research to find higher infant mortality rates
in states with abortion restrictions.

The researchers looked at how many infants died
before their first birthday after Texas adopted its
abortion ban in September 2021. They compared infant
deaths in Texas to those in 28 states — some also
with restrictions. The researchers calculated that
there were 216 more deaths in Texas than expected
between March and December the next year.

In Texas, the 2022 mortality rate for infants went up
8% to 5.75 per 1,000 births, compared to a 2%
increase in the rest of the U.S., according to the
study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Among causes of deaths, birth defects showed a 23%
increase, compared to a decrease of about 3% in the
rest of the U.S. The Texas law blocks abortions after
the detection of cardiac activity, usually five or
six weeks into pregnancy, well before tests are done
to detect fetal abnormalities.

“I think these findings make clear the potentially
devastating consequences that abortion bans can
have,” said co-author Suzanne Bell, a fertility
researcher.

Doctors have argued that the law is too restrictive
toward women who face pregnancy complications, though
the state’s Supreme Court last month rejected a case
that sought to weaken it.

Infant deaths are relatively rare, Bell said, so the
team was a bit surprised by the findings. Because of
the small numbers, the researchers could not parse
out the rates for different populations, for example,
to see if rates were rising more for certain races or
socioeconomic groups.

But the results did not come as a surprise to Tiffany
Green, a University of Wisconsin-Madison economist
and population health scientist who studies the
consequences of racial inequities on reproductive
health. She said the results were in line with
earlier research on racial disparities in infant
mortality rates due to state differences in Medicaid
funding for abortions. Many of the people getting
abortions are vulnerable to pregnancy complications,
said Green, who was not part of the research.

Stephen Chasen, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist
with Weill Cornell Medicine, said abortion
restrictions have other consequences. Chasen, who had
no role in the research, said people who carry out
pregnancies with fetal anomalies need extra support,
education and specialized medical care for the mother
and newborn — all of which require resources.

https://fox59.com/news/health/ap-health/ap-infant- mortality-rate-rose-8-in-wake-of-texas-abortion-ban-
study-shows/

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