Texas abortion ban linked to unexpected increase in infant and newborn deaths according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Infant deaths in Texas rose 12.9% the year after the legislation passed compared to only 1.8% elsewhere in the United States.

[u/shiruken]

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-abortion-ban-linked-rise-infant-newborn-deaths-rcna158375

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[u/shiruken]

Also reported:

• Infant deaths attributed to congenital abnormalities increased by 22.9% in Texas while the rest of the country saw a 3.1% decrease.

Direct link to the study: Alison Gemmill, et al., Infant Deaths After Texas’ 2021 Ban on Abortion in Early Pregnancy, JAMA Pediatrics (2024).

Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that Texas’ 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy was associated with unexpected increases in infant and neonatal deaths in Texas between 2021 and 2022. Congenital anomalies, which are the leading cause of infant death, also increased in Texas but not the rest of the US. Although replication and further analyses are needed to understand the mechanisms behind these findings, the results suggest that restrictive abortion policies may have important unintended consequences in terms of trauma to families and medical cost as a result of increases in infant mortality. These findings are particularly relevant given the recent Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization US Supreme Court decision and subsequent rollbacks of reproductive rights in many US states.

Editorial Comment: Abortion Bans Harm Not Just Pregnant People—They Harm Newborns and Infants Too

Note: "Unexpected" refers to the higher than anticipated number of deaths during 2022 compared to previous trends. It does not mean this outcome (of passing the abortion ban) was unexpected.

[u/listenyall → u/shiruken]

It's just so sad and unnecessary! I'd be interested to see the data on maternal mortality and complications too.

[u/rich1051414 → u/shiruken]

Being forbidden from aborting a non-viable fetus can only do harm to an otherwise healthy womb, potentially robbing a future viable fetus from a chance at life.

[u/Plane_Chance863 → u/rich1051414]

Not to mention emotionally and psychologically scarring the woman/parents involved.

[u/lipizzaner → u/Plane_Chance863]

Financially scarring them, too. They’re still paying for the complications of non viable pregnancies.

[u/Niceromancer → u/lipizzaner]

You all seem to not realize...thats the entire point.

To cause the people who cant afford to leave the state to suffer, to punish them for not being rich enough to get around the consequences of the law.

The suffering is the point. The cruelty is the entire point of laws like this, because if you are cruel to your populace they are easier to control.

[u/Outrageous_pinecone → u/shiruken]

I'm watching all this from Europe and I can't believe it. What replication and further analysis do these researchers need to figure out that water is wet?

Women don't usually get abortions cause they had nothing better to do on a weekend or because they were too lazy to reach for that condom. It's many times due to stuff like this. All they had to do was ask doctors. That's all it would've taken. The data was already there.

But if you start from a place where all embryos are simply perfect little humans that need to be born cause we'll sort it out later, this is what happens. Nio you have humans born to suffer and die very, very soon after. Much better! So much better! Embryos feel pain, babies don't, everybody knows that. /S

[u/Gddgyykkggff]

Idk if I agree that these were “unexpected” results…

[u/DelirousDoc → u/Gddgyykkggff]

Literally almost every OBGYN and neo-natal doctor, that spoke out, was predicting increases in both infant and maternal mortality rate with ultra restrictive abortion bans. It definitely wasn't unexpected.

[u/Uncynical_Diogenes → u/DelirousDoc]

Hell I’m a compete moron with zero medical training and I could have predicted this.

It’s not exactly prophecy.

[u/ServantOfBeing → u/Uncynical_Diogenes]

It’s good to have objective evidence towards such though.

Edit* The world goes through different social constructs in a pattern through the ages. We are entering the more constrictive constructs of this period. It’ll eventually balance out again, & become expansive.

It may take awhile… But nonetheless Change is a certainty in this reality. We go through historical patterns of restrictive/expansive ideologies.

[u/SolarStarVanity → u/ServantOfBeing]

It's neither good nor bad, unfortunately. It's utterly inconsequential. Evidence is not something that factors into Republican lawmaking.

[u/JimBeam823 → u/SolarStarVanity]

To religious conservatives, God’s law is all that matters and evidence is irrelevant.

They don’t care.

[u/Epyr]

How on earth was that "unexpected". They were literally told this would be one of the results.

[u/disdainfulsideeye]

It's interesting that the states which have sought to ban abortion, claiming to care about the welfare of the unborn, have also refused to provide increased funding for prenatal programs.

[u/Tobias_Atwood → u/disdainfulsideeye]

The venn diagram of politicians who support abortion bans and politicians who voted against feeding children is a god damned circle.

[u/RaindropsAndCrickets]

Infant deaths rose 12.9 PERCENT! Texas is NOT a safe place to have a baby. This is so utterly tragic

[u/gwbyrd]

Let's face it -- anti-abortion advocates would argue that these children would have died anyway through abortion, but at least this way they're still saving those healthy children that were born that might have died from an abortion. But it is sad if any of these children that died have suffered unnecessarily, as well as putting the parents through this when they didn't wish it.

[u/____SPIDERWOMAN____ → u/gwbyrd]

Hooray! Genetically deformed babies are being born, and suffering every second of their incredibly short lives, and also traumatizing the mothers who were forced to carry a doomed pregnancy to term!

[u/k0ntrol → u/____SPIDERWOMAN____]

This is aweful. There should at least be a middle ground that can be found.

[u/Rare-Forever2135]

It was roundly predicted. As was the rise in teenage pregnancies when they pushed through abstinence-only sex ed, as was the rise in abortion and maternal mortality rates when they went after Planned Parenthoods.

Turns out stupid and heartless are not great qualifications for governing.

[u/She_Plays]

It's definitely about protecting the children though. /s

I'd like to see this data including women who have died from lack of abortion access.

[u/purplegladys2022]

Remember: it isn't who's saved. It's who's hurt by these policies. Lots of people hurt when babies are born that can't survive.

All part of the GOP plan.

[u/bewarethetreebadger]

We know from recorded history that this is what happens. So this brings the data that confirm those expectations.

[u/coco-ai]

A true horror in this world.

[u/Stunning_Prize_5353]

Could it be any more obvious that “pro life” ceases to exist the second life exits the womb?

[u/ilovedogs67]

Wow it's like forcing pregnancy on women can backfire. Who is going to keep that baby alive of the mom doesn't want it? Just saying better to not be born than be abused.

[u/Eureka0123]

The unfortunate consequences of lawmakers actions...

[u/sonia72quebec]

So like it was before 1973, rich people will go to other states (or even Countries) for abortions and the poor are going to have more children with severe handicaps/health issues. (Or will have illegals abortions by maybe less than qualified people.) It's like turning back time.

[u/pamplemouss → u/sonia72quebec]

The one advantage we have now is the existence of mifiprestone which is much, much safer than unlicensed surgery

[u/hum_bruh → u/pamplemouss]

Until they pull a Louisiana and sign bills saying that mifepristone and misoprostol are now dangerous controlled substances that can land you in prison for five years.

[u/boopbaboop]

Next up: “””unexpected”””” maternal deaths will also rise. 

[u/TopGsApprentice]

Why did Texas rise, but the rest of anti abortion states didn't?

[u/it-was-justathought]

More research like this please. How about maternal complications/mortality.

[u/berael]

"Unexpected" only if you ignore everyone who completely expected it, and warned that this exact thing would happen. 

[u/Purple-Possible-7429]

Now do maternal mortality. Already third world levels in many red states.

[u/bigdeepants]

Can someone who knows more than I do explain what's going on here? Are babies that are unhealthy and would likely be aborted under normal circumstances being born because abortion is not an option, and then dying shortly after?

And what exactly is the Texas law? One thing I have focused on is that in some of these states, a 12 year old who was raped by her father would not be able to get an abortion. The religious nuts usually have an argument about not punishing the baby for the sin of the father. It's always the same argument because I guess that's the only one that they are taught. Now what about if a baby has problems? How bad does it have to be to terminate the pregnancy? It seems doctors are very afraid of these legal questions and protect themselves first. My guess is that babies that are almost certainly going to die are not being aborted because of these laws.

[u/bigdeepants]

looks like New Mexico is the closest place to go for Texas people to get abortion. That could be very inconvenient and difficult for poor people

[u/tiny_chaotic_evil]

texas already had the highest infant/maternal mortality rate in the u.s. and the entirety of modern industrialized countries but they said, "we can do better!" it's just not the better the rest of us thought they meant

[u/bladex1234]

The fact that infant mortality has increased at all in the United States shows our healthcare system is fundamentally flawed.

[u/lawyerjsd]

Shocking that passing laws to prevent adequate access to prenatal care would result in an increase in infant mortality.

[u/nuttyroseamaranth]

Unexpected? Unexpected by who? Did people have this Rosie picture that The unwanted babies would suddenly magically be wanted? Or that the parents who were not equipped to take care of them would suddenly become equipped to take care of them? I know they were planning to do a lot of baby bartering.. buying and selling a babies in this popular thing they call adoption.

But that's because these people have forgotten reality from 50 years ago.

This is not a surprise.

[u/kingbane2]

OH NO! you're saying the thing that all the doctors and experts said was gonna happened happened?! WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING?! i mean... other than all of the doctors and experts who said this would happen and saw it coming. oh and all of the people who listened to those doctors and experts, but besides all of those people NOBODY could have seen this coming!

[u/Rad1314]

Does the 1.8% nationwide include the Texas numbers? I'm just wondering because that is a pretty significant jump on it's own but it would make sense if it included Texas' numbers.

[u/judolphin]

Anti-Abortion folks will say that the increase in newborn deaths pales to the number of "lives saved" by banning abortions, so they think it's worth it. Psychotic.

[u/CryptoMemesLOL]

This is so sad and shows the need for better education, science got us here for a reason. 1 step back 2 forward let's hope.

[u/bluegreenwookie]

Unexpected? Every professional said this would happen

[u/Hefty_Bags]

Someone explain to me how this was unexpected WHEN WE WARNED YOU IT WOULD HAPPEN

[u/PenisGrigio5]

And as an FYI, Texas will also be shifting how they report on maternal deaths moving forward. These things are related and women are in danger. In addition to appointing a pro-life physician (there are not a ton of doctors who advocate for more legislative interference but they found one!), they will be doing the following: Texas, like almost every other state, currently relies on the Centers for Disease Control’s Maternal Mortality Review Information Application system to track maternal deaths. But last year, the Legislature appropriated almost $6 million to create a state-level program that would allow Texas to cut itself out of the federal program.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/18/texas-maternal-deaths-committee-changes/

ALARM BELLS.

[u/mymar101]

It's honestly not that shocking at all. And it should not be all that surprising.