Link found in Texas between rising infant mortality and state’s abortion restrictions

(CNN) – A new study has drawn a possible link between rising infant mortality in Texas and the state’s abortion restrictions, which, when they took effect in 2021, were the strictest in the nation. The study, published today in JAMA Pediatrics – a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association – cited an investigative report by CNN last year that revealed a sudden spike in infant deaths in the wake of the law’s passage. “A report from the media found an increase in infant deaths in Texas between 2021 and 2022, suggesting that Texas’ abortion policy could be responsible,” according to the study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Michigan State University. “However, to our knowledge, no studies have conducted a systematic evaluation of infant mortality after the passage of Texas’ [law].” The authors say their study is the first attempt to do so, and their conclusions echo the findings of CNN’s story. In September 2021, Texas banned nearly all abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights the following summer, a trigger law in the state banned all abortions other than those intended to protect the life of...