Since Texas banned abortion in 2021, the number of infant deaths has continued to rise. A phenomenon which reveals the consequences of restrictive policies on women’s health, according to a study published this Tuesday, June 25.
He is the frontline of the fight against abortion. The state of Texas experienced a 12.9% increase in the infant mortality rate between 2021 and 2022, after the entry into force of the strictest abortion restrictions in the United States, suggests a study published this Monday, June 24 in the American journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Since September 1, 2021, Texas has banned abortion (voluntary termination of pregnancy) as soon as the fetal heartbeat is perceptible, i.e. from approximately the sixth week of pregnancy.
When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, who had guaranteed for half a century the federal right of American women to terminate their pregnancies, Texas in turn banned abortions other than those intended to protect the life of the mother in the event of a “medical emergency”.
In addition to the fact that it does not provide any exception for rape or incest, the unique character of the Texan law lies in the method of its application: citizens are encouraged to denounce those who, directly or indirectly, take has an abortion.
This study, led by researchers at the Universities of Maryland and Michigan, provides the first empirical evidence of a correlation between restrictive abortion policies and infant deaths.
2,243 infants died in 2022 in Texas
A total of 2,243 infants under the age of one died in 2022 in Texas, compared to 1,985 in 2021. These results correspond to a 12.9% increase in the infant mortality rate, compared to a much smaller increase in the rest of the states -United, 1.8%.
According to researchers, one of the leading causes of death is birth defects. Indeed, the Texas law against abortion makes no exceptions when it comes to congenital anomalies, leading to a 22.9% increase in deaths due to these malformations in Texas, compared to a 2.9% decrease in other American states.
According to Dr Suzanne Bell, co-leader of the study, interviewed by the American channel ABC News, “this is a really atypical trend specific to Texas”.
Consequences of anti-abortion policies
For Dr. Richard Ivey, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Houston, quoted by ABC News, this new study “fundamentally confirms” what researchers have suspected “for a long time.” Studying the health consequences of restrictive abortion bans “is the first step in getting people to understand” the seriousness of the situation, he argues.
According to the researcher, if Americans are not aware of the consequences of the ban on abortion, it is because women do not speak out enough about “miscarriages”, “chromosomal abnormalities in their children”, or even “congenital malformations”.
While further investigations must still support these initial conclusions, the team of researchers believes that this new study already provides clues on the consequences of restrictive abortion policies, particularly in terms of “trauma for families and costs medical.”
“I think drawing attention to the consequences (…) of banning abortion is really important public health work,” Suzanne Bell told ABC News.
To date, 14 states prohibit abortion: Idaho, North and South Dakota, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas , Oklahoma and Arkansas.
