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Infant mortality in Texas has risen 13% since abortion ban
There are more babies being born in Texas with severe birth defects who are not capable of surviving which has caused the rate of infant mortality to increase. Due to the Texas abortion ban, Texas has a large number of babies die in what TFG would call post birth abortions. These infants are receiving care but they were never viable and would have normally been aborted earlier.
Link to tweet
🚨Texas was one of the first states to outlaw abortion, thanks to a trigger law prohibiting abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detectable (at approximately five to six weeks).
Nearly three years later, a study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics has revealed the impact of the Texas law, which came into effect almost a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas increased from 1,985 to 2,240, an increase of 12.9%, while the rest of the United States saw a rise of only 1.8%.
Nearly three years later, a study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics has revealed the impact of the Texas law, which came into effect almost a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas increased from 1,985 to 2,240, an increase of 12.9%, while the rest of the United States saw a rise of only 1.8%.
https://english.elpais.com/usa/2024-06-26/infant-mortality-in-texas-has-risen-13-since-abortion-ban.html
Texas was one of the first states to outlaw abortion, thanks to a trigger law prohibiting abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detectable (at approximately five to six weeks). Nearly three years later, a study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics has revealed the impact of the Texas law, which came into effect almost a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas increased from 1,985 to 2,240, an increase of 12.9%, while the rest of the United States saw a rise of only 1.8%.
The statistics also noted that neonatal deaths due to congenital anomalies rose 22.9% in Texas, but declined 3.1% nationally. “This is pointing to a causal effect of the policy; we didn’t see this increase in infant deaths in other states,” lead author Alison Gemmill, assistant professor of population, family, and reproductive Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, told NBC News. “This might foreshadow what is happening in other states [...] Texas is basically a year ahead,” she added, explaining that the other U.S. states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court ruling could see a similar spike in infant mortality.
“I think these findings make clear the potentially devastating consequences that abortion bans can have,” said co-author Suzanne Bell, a fertility researcher.
Physicians have argued that the law is too restrictive for women facing pregnancy complications. Neonatal deaths are relatively rare, and the researchers were surprised by the results. While the study does not break down the numbers by race or socioeconomic groups, abortion bans are known to primarily affect vulnerable populations such as low-income families, African Americans, and the Latino community.
The statistics also noted that neonatal deaths due to congenital anomalies rose 22.9% in Texas, but declined 3.1% nationally. “This is pointing to a causal effect of the policy; we didn’t see this increase in infant deaths in other states,” lead author Alison Gemmill, assistant professor of population, family, and reproductive Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, told NBC News. “This might foreshadow what is happening in other states [...] Texas is basically a year ahead,” she added, explaining that the other U.S. states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court ruling could see a similar spike in infant mortality.
“I think these findings make clear the potentially devastating consequences that abortion bans can have,” said co-author Suzanne Bell, a fertility researcher.
Physicians have argued that the law is too restrictive for women facing pregnancy complications. Neonatal deaths are relatively rare, and the researchers were surprised by the results. While the study does not break down the numbers by race or socioeconomic groups, abortion bans are known to primarily affect vulnerable populations such as low-income families, African Americans, and the Latino community.
If you buy TFG's definition of a post-birth abortion, Texas and other red states with abortion bans are committing this offense.