https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/analysis-suggests-2021-texas-abortion-ban-resulted-in-increase-in-infant-deaths-in-state-in-year-after-law-went-into-effect

A study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers estimates that infant deaths in Texas increased more than expected in the year following the state's 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy, especially among infants with congenital anomalies.

The Texas law prohibiting abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected -- as early as five or six weeks -- went into effect September 1, 2021. At the time, the law -- Senate Bill 8, or S.B. 8 -- was the most stringent state abortion law in the country. It did not allow exemptions for congenital anomalies.

The researchers' analysis of monthly death certificate data in Texas and the rest of the United States found that between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas rose from 1,985 to 2,240, a year-over-year increase of 255 deaths. This corresponds to a 12.9 percent increase in infant deaths in Texas versus a 1.8 percent increase in infant deaths in the rest of the U.S. during the same period. The study defines infants as under 12 months old.

The study was published online June 24 in JAMA Pediatrics.

The findings come as more U.S. states enact stricter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, the landmark ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policymaking to the states.

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The study:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2819785?guestAccessKey=7d568a16-aea5-41e6-bb65-f9c586b2ecb0&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=062424