Study results show that infant deaths increased nationwide after the overturn of Roe v. Wade

Child mortality rose in the months after the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade repealed, leading to nationwide laws that drastically restricted access to abortion, with far-reaching consequences for reproductive health.

In the 18 months following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the federal right to abortion in the Dobbs ruling in June 2022, the infant mortality rate was 7% higher than expected, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. This represented 247 additional deaths in the three months examined – October 2022, March 2023 and April 2023. More than 80% of these deaths occurred in infants with congenital anomalies.

As of this writing, 20 states have banned abortions or passed laws prohibiting abortions within the early term of pregnancy, and most of these states have no exemptions for fetal anomalies. This leads some pregnant people to give birth to babies with congenital abnormalities and watch them die shortly after birth, even though they may have chosen to have an abortion earlier to avoid such a traumatic experience.

Child mortality fell until 2022 and then increased by 3% for the first time in 20 years. Negative trends in maternal and infant health are associated with legislation restricting access to abortion, and research has shown that infants die at higher rates in states with stricter abortion bans. A similar study, also published earlier this year in JAMA Pediatrics, found that infant mortality in Texas increased by 13% after abortions were banned after six weeks in 2021.

“Whether the pregnancy was wanted or unwanted, we know that many of these pregnancies would have ended in abortion if people had access to these services,” Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, told CNN.