- cross-posted to:
- usnews
- cross-posted to:
- usnews
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.
There’s a well-known relationship between abortion restrictions and worse health outcomes for women and children.
I’ve also read harrowing accounts from women who resorted to infanticide because they couldn’t get an abortion. While I couldn’t find the specific anecdotes I’d seen before, I found that the Wikipedia page on this topic has plenty of info showing that access to safe abortions does reduce infanticide.