Infant deaths increased after Texas banned abortion in early pregnancy

STAT June 24, 2024
Annalisa Merelli

Since Texas’ ban on abortion went into effect, infant deaths in the state increased by nearly 13%, according to a new analysis published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. In the rest of the country, infant mortality increased less than 2% over the same period.

“We had read the literature that was showing an association [of infant death increases] with prior abortion restrictions or states that are hostile to abortion,” said lead author Alison Gemmill, a demographer and perinatal epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. But they weren’t sure how strong the connection was.

In order to establish the ban’s potential impact on infant mortality, the researchers looked at deaths that occurred starting in March 2022. Babies born...

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