Abortion bans in US led to more births and infant deaths, especially among vulnerable groups
CNN
Abortion bans in the United States are exacerbating existing health disparities as births increase in high-risk populations and infant mortality rises disproportionately, new research suggests.
Abortion bans in the United States are exacerbating existing health disparities as births increase in high-risk populations and infant mortality rises disproportionately, new research suggests. In 14 states that implemented complete or 6-week abortion bans after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to abortion, the fertility rate increased 1.7%, leading to about 1 additional birth for every 1,000 women of reproductive age, according to a study published Thursday in the medical journal JAMA. A corresponding study from the same research team found that the rise in infant mortality was even more significant, spiking nearly 6% in the states that implemented bans. With about 500 more deaths than expected among the 22,000 additional births, the infant mortality rate for births linked to abortion bans – 24 deaths for every 1,000 births – was about four times higher than expected. Rates of births and deaths were analyzed from 2012 through 2023, using trends from before the restrictions were implemented and from states without restrictions as baseline measures. “It signals that these additional births are occurring disproportionately among populations at greater risk of infant mortality and other full pregnancy outcomes,” said Dr. Suzanne Bell, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-author of the new studies. Other research has found links between abortion bans and a rise in infant births and deaths, but the new studies show that that some of the most vulnerable groups bear the greatest burden of the significant and compounding effects of abortion restrictions. Black and other minority women saw the largest increases in fertility rates, along with those of lower socioeconomic status such as Medicaid beneficiaries and those with lower education levels. Infant mortality also surged in these groups, with deaths rising nearly 11% – almost twice the average – among Black babies, more than any other racial or ethnic group.
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