• Posted October 21, 2024

U.S. Infant Deaths Rose After Fall of Roe v. Wade

The United States experienced a small but significant rise in infant deaths in the months following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturned Roe v. Wade, a new study shows.

The Dobbs ruling, handed down in July of 2022, led to outright bans on abortion in 14 states and tighter restrictions in eight others.

According to researchers, forcing women to carry "frail fetuses" to term -- for example, fetuses with known congenital abnormalities -- might lead to more deaths in infancy.

That appears to be the case.

Looking at U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on infant deaths for the years 2018 through 2023, the researchers observed a 7% rise in infant deaths in the months following the Dobbs decision, compared to the years before.

There was an even higher 10% rise in deaths for infants who died from congenital abnormalities.

The study, published Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, was co-authored by Maria Gallo and Parvati Singh, a professor and an assistant professor of epidemiology, respectively, at Ohio State University.

The new data shouldn't come as a surprise, the researchers said, since it echoes findings from a study published earlier this year. That research revealed a rise in infant deaths in Texas after that state passed legislation in 2021 that essentially banned abortion.

Following that legislation, the rate of infant deaths in Texas rose by almost 13%, the study found.

The new study suggests similar trends are now happening nationwide, with the 7% increase equaling 247 excess deaths to U.S. babies during the months following the fall of Roe v. Wade, Gallo and Singh calculated.

Many of these added tragedies are "potentially owing to frail fetuses more often being carried to term following the implementation of abortion restrictions," they wrote.

More information

Find out more about congenital abnormalities at the March of Dimes.

SOURCE: JAMA Pediatrics, Oct. 21, 2024