MONDAY, Oct. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A recent study reveals a significant rise in infant deaths in the United States after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Dobbs decision, made in July 2022, led to outright abortion bans in 14 states and stricter restrictions in eight others.
Researchers indicate that requiring women to carry "frail fetuses" to term, including those with congenital abnormalities, could be a contributing factor to the increased infant mortality rates.
That appears to be the case.
Looking at U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on infant deaths for the years 2018 through 2023, the researchers observed a 7% rise in infant deaths in the months following the Dobbs decision, compared to the years before.
There was an even higher 10% rise in deaths for infants who died from congenital abnormalities.
The study, published Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, was co-authored by Maria Gallo and Parvati Singh, a professor and an assistant professor of epidemiology, respectively, at Ohio State University.
The new data shouldn't come as a surprise, the researchers said, since it echoes findings from a study published earlier this year. That research revealed a rise in infant deaths in Texas after that state passed legislation in 2021 that essentially banned abortion.
Following that legislation, the rate of infant deaths in Texas rose by almost 13%, the study found.
The new study suggests similar trends are now happening nationwide, with the 7% increase equaling 247 excess deaths to U.S. babies during the months following the fall of Roe v. Wade, Gallo and Singh calculated.
Many of these added tragedies are "potentially owing to frail fetuses more often being carried to term following the implementation of abortion restrictions," they wrote.
More information
Find out more about congenital abnormalities at the March of Dimes.
SOURCE: JAMA Pediatrics, Oct. 21, 2024
