Infant mortality rises in states with abortion bans, study finds

Increases in infant mortality have been found in U.S. states that enacted abortion bans or severe restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling that guaranteed a right to the procedure, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

Across the 14 states where abortions were banned or prohibited after 6 weeks of pregnancy by laws that took effect between September 2021 and August 2022, there have been an estimated 478 infant deaths that would not have occurred if the restrictions were not in place, the researchers said.