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Texas is one of the American states that prohibits any voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) as soon as the fetal heartbeat is perceptible, i.e. from around the sixth week. A dramatic decision, applied since 2021, which is not without consequences, reports a new study published in the scientific journal JAMA Pediatrics: this ban has triggered a wave of infant mortality in the state.
The researchers behind the study analyzed death certificates from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, focusing specifically on neonatal deaths—those occurring before 28 days of age—and deaths of infants, before the age of one year. They then compared this data before and after the passage of this ban in Texas, but also in twenty-nine other states.
The results show that infant mortality in Texas, the second most populous US state, increased by 12.7% after the ban was implemented on September 1, 2021. A record situation compared to the rest of the country, where average increase amounts to 1.8%. Deaths attributed to birth defects also exploded by 22.9% in the state, from 445 to 547 deaths, while the same rate decreased by an average of 3.1% in the rest of the United States.
And that’s not all. The infant mortality rate attributed to unintentional injuries has climbed 20.7% in Texas since the law was passed, compared to 1.1% for the rest of the country. At the same time, necrotizing enterocolitis, an intestinal disease usually seen in premature babies, increased by 73.3%, compared to 6% elsewhere.
A ban with serious consequences
Scientists are clear: restrictive abortion policies can have very serious consequences on infant mortality, but also in terms of trauma for families and the community.
Two other chilling statistics are notably reported by the media ScienceAlert: on the one hand, the teenage pregnancy rate in Texas has increased for the first time in fifteen years; on the other, the suicide rate among women of childbearing age increased everywhere in American states that implemented restrictive abortion policies between 1974 and 2016.
In addition to Texas, thirteen other states in the country have completely banned the use of abortion since June 24, 2022, when the US Supreme Court ruled that the United States Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion.
