Infant mortality rate rises in states with abortion bans, study finds

Infant mortality rates have increased in states that adopted abortion bans after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of California, Berkeley, and two other academic institutions looked at live birth data across all 50 states from 2013 until 2023.

They then determined there were 478 infant deaths across 14 states with complete abortion bans or bans after six weeks of pregnancy that they say wouldn't have happened if the bans were not in place.

Abortion is almost completely banned in 12 states including Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia with some exceptions for rape, incest, or when continuing a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother.

The procedure is banned after six weeks of pregnancy in another four states: Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina.

Researchers found that the overall infant mortality rate in the states examined was 6.26 per 1,000 live births, well above the expected rate of 5.93 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The study found an increase in the infant mortality rates among babies born with congenital issues as well as an increase among groups of babies that historically have a higher-than-average death rate.

This includes non-Hispanic Black babies and infants born in Southern states, most notably Texas.

The mortality rate for infants born with congenital issues rose by 5.6 percent from an expected 1.24 deaths per 1,000 live births to 1.37 per 1,000 after abortion bans were enacted, according to the study.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black infants rose by almost 11 percent from the expected 10.66 per 1,000 live births to 11.81 deaths per 1,000.

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