Medical Xpress February 15, 2025
In the first 18 months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, most states with abortion bans saw a rise in infant deaths, new research reveals.
Two studies, published Feb. 13 in JAMA, show that states that enforced complete or near-total abortion bans after six weeks of pregnancy saw a 6% overall rise in infant death rates. That added up to 478 more infant deaths than expected based on previous trends.
Among non-Hispanic Black infants, the death rate rose 11%, according to a team led by Alison Gemmill of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
Researchers noted an increase in babies born with fatal birth defects—cases in which abortion was previously an option.
“The groups...
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