Latest news with #AlisonGemmill
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Infant mortality rises in US states with abortion bans, study finds
Infant mortality rates have increased in US states which have enacted abortion bans following the landmark ruling overturning the nationwide right for women to access the procedure, a new study has found. According to researchers, there were an estimated 478 infant deaths across 14 states with bans or heavy restrictions after six weeks of pregnancy - which they say would not have occurred had they not been not in place. Alison Gemmill, co-leader of the study, said "restrictive abortion policies" could be "reversing decades of progress" in reducing infant deaths across the US. In its 2022 ruling, the US Supreme Court reversed its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision which had protected a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy up until the point of foetal viability, around the 24th week. The study, published this week by researchers from the John Hopkin's Bloomberg School of Public Health, found an increase in mortality rates for babies born with congenital issues, as well as among groups where death rates already were higher than average. This included Black infants, as well as for babies whose parents were unmarried, younger, did not attend college, and for those living in southern states. As of January 2025, 17 states have outlawed nearly all abortions, though some have narrow exceptions for cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother. States with a total ban include Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, there are bans in place in Nebraska and North Carolina for procedures after 12 weeks, while it is 18 weeks in Utah. In the states which opted to enact the new laws, infant mortality rates increased to 6.26 per 1,000 live births, compared with an expected rate of 5.93 per 1,000 - a relative increase of 5.6%. The study also found an increase in the number of infant deaths from congenital anomalies, rising 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, compared to an expected rate of 10.66 per 1,000, an increase of nearly 11%. According to the research, the increase in infant mortality due to congenital malformations was consistent with women being denied abortions for non-viable pregnancies - where a pregnancy cannot possibly result in a liveborn baby. But the increase due to non-congenital causes "is less straightforward", researchers say. The study also found the ban may be disproportionately impacting disadvantaged populations who are already at a higher risk of infant mortality as well as delays in receiving medical care. Separate research from John Hopkin's Bloomberg School of Public Health found that abortion bans were also linked to increased fertility rates. Following the overturning of Roe v Wade, which returned control over the procedure back to individual states, researchers found that the number of births per 1,000 reproductive-aged females in affected states rose by 1.7%, or 22,180. The estimated differences in fertility were largest in states with among the "worst maternal and child health outcomes", the research suggested. What happens now Roe v Wade has been overturned? What are the abortion laws in US states?
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
US infant mortality rises in states with abortion bans, study finds
Infant mortality rates have increased in US states which have enacted abortion bans following the landmark ruling overturning the nationwide right for women to access the procedure, a new study has found. According to researchers, there were an estimated 478 infant deaths across 14 states with bans or heavy restrictions after six weeks of pregnancy - which they say would not have occurred had they not been not in place. Alison Gemmill, co-leader of the study, said "restrictive abortion policies" could be "reversing decades of progress" in reducing infant deaths across the US. In its 2022 ruling, the US Supreme Court reversed its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision which had protected a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy up until the point of foetal viability, around the 24th week. The study, published this week by researchers from the John Hopkin's Bloomberg School of Public Health, found an increase in mortality rates for babies born with congenital issues, as well as among groups where death rates already were higher than average. This included Black infants, as well as for babies whose parents were unmarried, younger, did not attend college, and for those living in southern of January 2025, 17 states have outlawed nearly all abortions, though some have narrow exceptions for cases of rape, incest or the health of the with a total ban include Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, there are bans in place in Nebraska and North Carolina for procedures after 12 weeks, while it is 18 weeks in Utah. Congenital malformations In the states which opted to enact the new laws, infant mortality rates increased to 6.26 per 1,000 live births, compared with an expected rate of 5.93 per 1,000 - a relative increase of 5.6%.The study also found an increase in the number of infant deaths from congenital anomalies, rising 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% non-Hispanic Black infants, there were 11.81 deaths per 1,000 live births after the bans, compared to an expected rate of 10.66 per 1,000, an increase of nearly 11%.According to the research, the increase in infant mortality due to congenital malformations was consistent with women being denied abortions for non-viable pregnancies - where a pregnancy cannot possibly result in a liveborn baby. But the increase due to non-congenital causes "is less straightforward", researchers study also found the ban may be disproportionately impacting disadvantaged populations who are already at a higher risk of infant mortality as well as delays in receiving medical research from John Hopkin's Bloomberg School of Public Health found that abortion bans were also linked to increased fertility the overturning of Roe v Wade, which returned control over the procedure back to individual states, researchers found that the number of births per 1,000 reproductive-aged females in affected states rose by 1.7%, or 22,180. The estimated differences in fertility were largest in states with among the "worst maternal and child health outcomes", the research suggested.
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
After abortion bans, infant mortality and births increased, research finds
Overall, infant mortality was 6 percent higher than expected in states that implemented abortion bans, said Alison Gemmill, one of the researchers, who is a demographer and perinatal epidemiologist in the department of population, family, and reproductive health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That number reflected increases in nine states, decreases in four, and no change in one. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Gemmill said that among non-Hispanic Black infants, mortality was 11 percent higher after abortion bans were implemented than would have been expected. Also, there were more babies born with congenital birth defects, situations in which women have been able to terminate their pregnancies if not for abortion bans. Advertisement Overall, the researchers found that in the states that implemented near-total abortion bans or bans after six weeks' gestation during that period, there were 478 more deaths of babies in their first year of life after the bans were implemented than would have been expected based on previous years' data. Birth rate increases were higher among communities with socioeconomic disadvantages and in states that have the worst maternal and child health outcomes. 'What happens when you ban abortion is that you create enormous inequality in access to abortion,' said Caitlin Myers of Middlebury College, who studies similar abortion data but was not involved in the new research. The studies evaluated data from birth and death certificates and census records for all 50 states from January 2012 through December 2023. That time frame allowed researchers to compare trends in births and infant mortality in the years before the Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion in June 2022 with data in the 18 months afterward. Advertisement At the time, 14 states had implemented near-total abortion bans or bans after six weeks' gestation during that period. Now 16 have. While national data has shown that, because of factors like telemedicine and out-of-state travel, overall abortion rates have actually increased since the Supreme Court's ruling, but that does not mean that everyone who needed or sought an abortion could obtain one, Myers said. She said the research showed that two dynamics were behind the increase in infant mortality. One aspect is that when women are not allowed to end pregnancies of fetuses with congenital anomalies, the babies often die within days or weeks after birth. The other aspect is that women who cannot obtain abortions by traveling to other states or by ordering pills by mail, are 'more likely to be poor, more likely to be women of color, and those populations have higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, infant complications, infant mortality,' Myers said.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Infant mortality rises in states with abortion bans, study finds
By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) - 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. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. '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.
The Independent
13-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
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.
