Infant deaths increased after Texas banned abortion in early pregnancy

Since Texas’ ban on abortion went into effect, infant deaths in the state increased by nearly 13%, according to a new analysis published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. In the rest of the country, infant mortality increased less than 2% over the same period.

“We had read the literature that was showing an association [of infant death increases] with prior abortion restrictions or states that are hostile to abortion,” said lead author Alison Gemmill, a demographer and perinatal epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. But they weren’t sure how strong the connection was.