Since Texas's abortion ban went into effect, infant mortality in the state has increased and more people have died from birth defects, according to a study released Monday.

The Johns Hopkins University analysis is the latest study to find higher infant mortality rates in states with abortion restrictions.

The researchers looked at how many infants died before their first birthday after Texas passed an abortion ban in September 2021. They compared infant deaths in Texas with those in 28 states – some of which also had restrictions. The researchers calculated that there were 216 more deaths in Texas than expected between March and December of the following year.

In Texas, the infant mortality rate rose 8% to 5.75 per 1,000 births in 2022, compared with a 2% increase in the rest of the U.S., according to the study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Among causes of death, birth defects rose by 23 percent, while in the rest of the United States they fell by about three percent. Texas law prohibited abortions when cardiac activity was detected, which usually occurs in the fifth or sixth week of pregnancy, long before tests are performed to detect fetal abnormalities. Texas has since passed a law that prohibits the procedure at any time during pregnancy unless the pregnant patient's life is in danger.

“I think these findings highlight the potentially devastating consequences that abortion bans can have,” said co-author Suzanne Bell, a fertility researcher.

Doctors argue the law is too restrictive for women with pregnancy complications, but the state Supreme Court last month dismissed a lawsuit seeking to weaken the law.

Infant deaths are relatively rare, Bell said, so the team was somewhat surprised by the results. Because of the small numbers, the researchers were unable to analyze rates for different populations to determine, for example, whether rates increased more for certain races or socioeconomic groups.

But the findings were no surprise to Tiffany Green, an economist and population health scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the consequences of racial inequalities on reproductive health. She said the results are consistent with previous research on racial disparities in infant mortality due to differences in state Medicaid funding for abortion. Many of the women who have abortions are vulnerable to pregnancy complications, said Green, who was not involved in the research.

Stephen Chasen, a maternal-child medicine specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine, said abortion restrictions have other consequences. Chasen, who was not involved in the study, said people who carry pregnancies with fetal abnormalities need additional support, education and specialized medical care for the mother and newborn – all of which require resources.

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This story was first published on June 24, 2024. It was updated on July 1, 2024. The original story reported the results of a study analyzing infant mortality in Texas after the state passed a law restricting access to abortion. The story should have made clear that Texas later passed another law further restricting the procedure.

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