Infant mortality rises in states with abortion bans, study finds
Increases in infant mortality have been found in U.S. states that enacted abortion bans or severe restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling that guaranteed a right to the procedure, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Across the 14 states where abortions were banned or prohibited after 6 weeks of pregnancy by laws that took effect between September 2021 and August 2022, there have been an estimated 478 infant deaths that would not have occurred if the restrictions were not in place, the researchers said.
'Restrictive abortion policies may be reversing decades of progress in reducing infant deaths in the U.S.,' study co-leader Alison Gemmill of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said in a statement.
Relative increases in mortality were greater for babies with congenital issues and among groups in which death rates were already higher than average, including Black infants and those whose parents were without a college degree, unmarried, younger, or living in Southern states, according to the study published in JAMA.
After the bans took effect, infant mortality rates were 6.26 per 1,000 live births, compared with an expected rate of 5.93 per 1,000, a relative increase of 5.60%.
Infant deaths from congenital anomalies rose from an expected 1.24 per 1,000 live births to 1.37 per 1,000, a relative increase of 10.87%.
Mortality from other causes rose to 4.89 per 1,000 from an expected 4.69, a 4.23% increase.
Among non-Hispanic Black infants, there were 11.81 deaths per 1,000 live births after the bans, versus an expected rate of 10.66 per 1,000, an increase of nearly 11%, the researchers said.
The increase in infant mortality due to congenital malformations is consistent with reports of women being denied abortions for nonviable pregnancies, but 'the increase... due to non-congenital causes is less straightforward,' the researchers said.
Abortion bans may be disproportionately impacting already disadvantaged populations who are at higher risk of infant mortality and delays in receiving timely medical care, the researchers said. This suggests that legal exceptions based solely on fetal anomalies 'will not fully offset the negative effects of abortion bans on infant health,' they added.
In a separate paper in JAMA, Gemmill's team reported that abortion bans also were associated with increased fertility rates.
Following adoption of the bans, the number of births per 1,000 reproductive-aged females in affected states rose 1.70%, equivalent to 22,180 births that would not have happened were the bans not in place, they found.
The estimated differences in fertility associated with abortion bans were largest 'in states with among the worst maternal and child health outcomes,' the researchers said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Race row as top UK health boss says mum got 'Black service, not an NHS service'
Lord Victor Adebowale said in a speech to other NHS leaders he believes his ex-nurse mum faced NHS discrimination and worse care because of the colour of her skin The country's most senior Black health leader has said his mum received a "Black service, not an NHS service" before her death. Lord Victor Adebowale believes his mum faced NHS discrimination and worse care because of the colour of her skin. Grace Adebowale, who worked as an NHS nurse for 45 years, died in January after a traumatic visit to A&E. Lord Adebowale, who is the chairman of the NHS Confederation, the membership body for NHS organisations, said his mum lived in pain for many years and was only diagnosed with suspected cancer after a biopsy was taken post mortem. During an emotional interview, he told the Mirror: 'She lived to 92 and you think 'she had a good innings' but for a lot of those years she lived in some discomfort. The reason I'm mentioning it is that it's still the case that if you look like me, or shades of me, you're more likely to discover you've got cancer in A&E. That for me is an example of two different services. 'You only have to look at the stats. Across all the major disease categories Black people have a worse experience and worse outcomes. My mother is a fairly solid example of a systemic problem. And it's important that people like me are not seen as above it all, because I'm not, I'm in it… I'm sick of it and I'm sick of it not changing.' Grace Adebowale came to the UK from Nigeria as a young nurse before dedicating her career to the NHS working in maternity, mental health and acute hospital services. She and her husband settled in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where Victor grew up. The 62-year-old Life Peer is one of the most influential people in the NHS and its most senior Black leader as well as a government adviser. Lord Adebowale revealed his experience when delivering the opening address at the NHS Confed Expo conference in Manchester this week, telling thousands of medics and health leaders he had 'experienced the culture of the NHS for myself'. He told delegates: 'It was not the dignified death that we would have wanted for her. It wasn't the death she deserved. So it makes me clear about the need to address the inequity. I think she got a black service, not an NHS service.' NHS data shows Black women are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth. People from African and Caribbean backgrounds are more likely to have mental health issues and less likely to receive treatment. Becoming tearful when speaking afterwards, Lord Adebowale said: 'She presented in A&E in a very poor condition. It was a very, very busy day at the hospital and there wasn't any space for anyone. And there had to be a negotiation to get her a space, which you shouldn't have to do.' He added: 'It made me angry because how can you live that long with something and not be [diagnosed]. It looks like she had lung cancer. She never smoked and lived a very healthy life. I just think there are too many situations where people who look like me, and different shades of me, don't get the service.' Lord Adebowale said that he did not want to blame anyone, but he said that he wanted to highlight a "systematic problem", adding: 'If you're in A&E and it is under stress then it's really difficult. It's not because people are cruel or nasty or don't want to do a good job. The first thing that goes is care. People deal with what's in front of them in the best way they can.' He added: "It is not acceptable that someone who looks like me, on average, waits 20 minutes longer in A&E than white patients. To achieve an inclusive, equitable NHS we need an inclusive equitable culture from top to bottom." Lord Adebowale said he was reluctantly speaking out because since becoming a public figure he has had 'racists sending me emails, trying to find out where I live'. He said: "And my mum, I think, God bless her, I think she would have wanted me to say it." He added: 'I know people have chronic diseases, and they don't know they have them, then they die from them. I know it's more likely to happen if you're Black and more likely to happen if you're poor. If you grow up in Dagenham your healthy life expectancy is 55 and if you live in Richmond Upon Thames it's over 78. It's all part of a systemic problem.' Lord Adebowale also highlighted the example pulse oximeters which estimate someone's oxygen levels and were vital in knowing when Covid-19 patients needed emergency care. It was later discovered that they over-estimated the oxygen levels of Black people. Lord Adebowale was one of the first individuals to become a People's Peer in 2001 for his work helping the homeless and people with addiction and mental health problems as chief executive of charity Centrepoint and then care organisation Turning Point. He has advised the Government on issues including mental health, learning disability and the role of the voluntary sector. The Peer established the NHS Race and Health Observatory in 2021 to try and tackle inequalities experienced by black and minority ethnic patients in healthcare.
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Author inspired by 'most amazing story' on Mirror front page wins top award
Dr Rachel Clarke wrote 'The Story of a Heart' after our story about Max Johnson and Keira Ball showed 'humanity at its finest' - she has now been awarded a top literary prize The best seller inspired by our 'Change the Law for Life' campaign has won a top literary prize after showing 'humanity at its finest'. Dr Rachel Clarke wrote 'The Story of a Heart' after reading The Mirror 's front page about Max Johnson and Keira Ball. Max, now 17, of Winsford, Cheshire, and his heart donor Keira Ball, who died aged nine, had the new organ donor law in England named after them. Five years after its introduction in May, 2020, it is credited with helping to save and transform hundreds of lives every year. Dr Clarke won the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction after her book "left a deep and long-lasting impression" on the judging panel. Today she recalled how she was inspired by our front page story which told how the siblings of Keira listened to their sister's heart beating in the chest of Max after his transplant in 2017. She said: "It was the most amazing story I had read in my life and I thought: 'I would love to tell it in a book." It has won plaudits and critical acclaim around the world. Dr Clarke recalled: "It was on the front page of the Mirror as they changed the law on organ donation. Keira's mum read the story and she sent a message to Max's mum. It simply read: 'I think your son has my daughter's heart and it is the most beautiful heart in the world'. "That started a chain of events which culminated in Keira's family meeting Max and with a stethoscope listening to her heart beating in his chest. And when I read that story I thought 'that is the most amazing story I have ever read in my life." She urged people to think about their organ donor wishes, adding: "The statistics are stark. We have 8,000 people in Britain waiting for an organ, 250 children in peril. It is through Max's story that you can make vivid the desperate need for organs. The fact that if only we talked about our organ donor decisions, we could save the lives of children. "Keira was an incredibly caring little girl. Her dad Joe said she gave her last sweets to her sisters, she loved animals and if she saw a snail in the road she moved it so no one stood on it. "Incredibly, she was in intensive care when her little sister Katelyn, then 11, turned to her doctor and said: 'Can we donate Keira's organs? I know it is what she would have wanted'. I interviewed the doctor who said that had never happened before. "Her dad Joe said yes. It was something that Keira would have loved, to save four lives. There is endless bad news about the NHS struggling with waiting lists. But behind each successful heart transplant there is an army of surgeons, doctors, nurses and specialists. "I found the absolute best of human nature, they would work through the night, they tucked a teddy under Keira's arm. This was not just exemplary medical care, it was humanity at its finest." Dr Clarke will receive £30,000 in prize money. Kavita Puri, chair of judges, said: "Humanity just shines out. It is a really remarkable book and will be read for years to come." Max was nine when he received the heart of Keira, who tragically lost her life in a car accident near her home in Barnstaple, Devon. Despite his tender years, he asked that she be included in the name for the new legislation, and it was named Max and Keira's Law. Opt out means people no longer have to carry an organ donor card. All adults in England are considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they opt out. Last year, deemed consent was applied in 1109 cases. Max 'never forgets' his debt to Keira and is still in touch with her parents Joe and Loanna, and her siblings Bradley, 15, Katelyn, 19, and 20-year-old Keely. Loanna, 40, said that her daughter's name 'will live on forever' in the new law. She added: "So much good has come from that devastating loss for us, she has benefited so many people by donating her organs. "When I hear of Max and Keira's Law, I know that it took the two of them to make that happen." Max's dad Paul, 51, a civil servant, added: "Max has grown into a young man, with a weekend job, GCSEs to sit and a driving licence. Our thoughts never stray far from Keira and the Ball family, because none of this would have happened without them."
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Londoners urged to give blood with help from a classic Jamaican dish
With urgent calls for more Black heritage blood donors - a new initiative hopes to get more Londoners donating, one patty at a time While a Jamaican patty might not seem like a lifesaving tool, for thousands of Londoners, it could be the very reason they finally roll up their sleeves to donate blood. As part of a new campaign for National Blood Week, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has teamed up with Jamaican food brand Port Royal Patties. With demand for blood donations rising, the two have come up with a powerful way to spotlight the issue by printing QR codes on 180,000 patty wrappers. The 'food for thought' initiative aims to encourage more Londoners, especially those from Black Caribbean and Black African heritage, to donate blood. For many, blood isn't just needed - it's a lifeline. Jeannine Joseph, 28, knows this first hand. Diagnosed with sickle cell before birth, she receives eight units of blood every five and a half weeks to stay alive. 'If regular blood transfusions weren't an option for people with sickle cell, our lives would be unbearable,' she said. 'In May I was hospitalised for almost three weeks. My doctors couldn't get my crisis under control with pain meds. It wasn't until I had a blood transfusion that I instantly felt better and was able to go home.' That need is exactly what moved Port Royal's MD, Edward Johnston, to act. After stumbling across an NHSBT blood drive years ago, he learned about the urgent need for Black heritage donors and signed up himself. 'We're a London company with Jamaican heritage, and we believe it's vital to support initiatives that help the community thrive,' he said. 'I'm proud we're part of the drive to encourage more Black people to give blood. I hope other businesses follow our lead and support NHSBT's lifesaving work.' Black heritage donors are ten times more likely to have the Ro blood type - the one most needed to treat sickle cell patients and reduce the risk of complications. But despite this, they still only make up 2% of UK blood donors. Almost half of the country's 20,000 Black heritage donors are based in London, and numbers have been steadily rising since June 2024. But NHSBT still needs to recruit an extra 16,000 Black donors this year alone to keep up with demand. 'London's Black communities have stepped up in a big way,' said Iroro Agba, Assistant Director at NHSBT. 'But with sickle cell cases rising, we urgently need more people to come forward, especially those with the Ro blood type. If we can keep building partnerships and showing up in our communities, I'm confident we'll get there.' Wembley-based Port Royal's patties now carry NHSBT's 'Blood Saves Lives' message and a scannable QR code that links straight to the blood donation sign-up page - making it as easy as possible to get involved. Many people still hold back from donating whether it's down to fear of needles, not knowing they're eligible, or simply not realising how urgent the need really is. But NHSBT is working hard to challenge those misconceptions and make giving blood part of everyday community culture. And this campaign is far from a one-off. NHSBT continues to build a culture of blood donation through events, outreach, and partnerships that challenge misconceptions and raise awareness of health conditions that disproportionately impact the Black community. 'If you've got the Ro type, chances are your sibling or parent does too,' Iroro added. 'So why not go together? Bring a friend or family member - it takes just an hour and can truly change someone's life.'
