Infant mortality increases by more than 12% in Texas after near-total ban on abortion enacted in 2021: study

Infant mortality increased 12.9% from 2021 to 2022 in Texas after Texas' near-total ban on abortion, according to a new study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. A total of 2,243 Texas infants, or children under the age of 1, died in 2022, compared to 1,985 Texas infant deaths in 2021.

This study “basically confirms what we've suspected for a long time,” said Dr. Richard Ivey, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Houston. “We knew that infant mortality was going to increase, especially with birth defects,” after the ban was passed, he said.

The Texas Heartbeat Act, the near-total ban on abortion in Texas, was implemented in September 2021. The infant mortality rate, or deaths per 1,000 live births, increased by 8.3% between 2021 and 2022. Rising infant mortality rates in 2022 erase gains made in Texas since 2017. This data is from before Roe vs. Wade was overturned two years ago.

While deaths from birth defects decreased by 2.9% on average in 19 other states, researchers found a 22.9% increase in deaths from birth defects in Texas. According to the CDC, birth defects are a leading cause of childhood deaths.

“This is a really atypical trend specifically in Texas,” Dr. Suzanne Bell, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-leader of the study, said of the increase in congenital malformations. She said the other 19 states Texas was compared to also experienced COVID, and COVID alone cannot explain the increase in birth defects or infant mortality. In 19 other states, infant mortality increased by only 1.8 percent, an increase much smaller than the rise in death rates in Texas.

The study showed an increase in the number of infants dying from a dangerous intestinal complication called necrotizing enterocolitis, often associated with prematurity. However, individual-level data, such as prematurity and race/ethnicity, are not yet publicly available for 2022. Researchers used CDC Wonder data, or Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research, to conduct their analysis.

Preliminary data from the CDC shows that infant mortality continued to increase in 2023. Preliminary data may be adjusted up or down once final numbers are analyzed by the CDC.

As more data becomes available from the CDC, Dr. Bell plans to continue this research. She and her team will then examine specific characteristics associated with infant death, including prematurity and low birth weight.

Studying the health consequences of restrictive abortion bans “is the first step in getting people to understand” the seriousness of the situation, Dr. Ivey said.

“Women don't talk about their miscarriages. Women don't talk about chromosomal abnormalities in their children. Women don't talk about birth defects. So the general public often doesn't understand” the consequences of banning sex abortion, he said. .

Dr. Bell agrees: “I think drawing attention to the perhaps unintended, although perhaps predictable, consequences of banning abortion is really important public health work. »

When asked what brings him hope, Dr. Ivey said Texas House Bill 3058, which passed in late 2023. This bill adds protections for pregnant women seeking abortions in the event non-viable and potentially fatal pregnancies located outside the uterus or a pregnant woman. the person's water breaks much too early.